Tarig Holman has taken on several challenging football coaching assignments so far in his career, though none nearly as emotional as his latest.
Just over a month after the sudden death of popular St. Thomas Aquinas football coach Brian Meeney, Holman has been selected as his successor at the Middlesex County school. The move was announced by the school on Friday.
“At the end of the day, the well-being of the kids is the most important thing,” Holman said, “Obviously, they’re dealing with a tremendous amount of adversity that you wouldn’t wish on anyone. Trying to help them cope with those kinds of things is going to be one of the most important things for me and my staff.”
In a related Big Central Football Conference personnel matter, Derick Eatman was named North Plainfield’s new head coach Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting after having served as Parsippany’s head coach the last two seasons.
Eatman, a former quarterback standout at South Plainfield, was Holman’s offensive coordinator at Neptune prior to taking the job at Parsippany. Eastman replaces Jimmy DiPaolo, who resigned in February after five seasons with the Canucks.
“There are a lot of talented, up-and-coming coaches out there, and one of my buddies, Derrick Eatman, is one of them. I couldn’t be happier for Derrick,” the 45-year-old Holman said. Eatman was going to join his old friend at Iselin Kennedy until the Parsippany position became available.
Now, Holman will be coaching against both Eatman (Oct. 14 in North Plainfield) and Holman’s younger brother Austin, on the road Sept. 9 against Austin’s Scotch Plains-Fanwood squad in Big Central play.
This is Tarig Holman’s sixth head coaching job since 2009 and third at a Middlesex County school. The former Randolph High and University of Iowa star began his career at South Brunswick, where he coached one season, and he had spent the last two seasons at nearby Iselin Kennedy, where he also teaches English and coaches track and field.
Holman also had served as head coach at Randolph, Trenton and Neptune, and he was an assistant for three years under Zoran Milich at Montgomery from 2010 through ‘12. He played for legendary coaches John Bauer Jr. at Randolph, Hayden Fry at Iowa and has worked with an assortment of other highly qualified people through the years.
Holman is eager to maintain that trend, likely with a blend of coaches who worked under Meeney at St. Thomas and who are hand-picked by the new coach.
“The one thing I know is you always want to surround yourself with good people. That’s the one thing I’ve been able to do throughout my academic career and my athletic career,” Holman said.
“It starts with surrounding myself with those quality individuals and let the playing field be almost like a classroom, and let the students in the classroom rise to meet their highest potential,” he said. “That’s always the goal; create a tremendous environment for them to be successful in and let them have a tremendous experience.”
Holman relied heavily upon that expertise and counsel of his staff to help him turn around programs at Trenton and Neptune – both of which made playoff appearances under his watch after years of heavy struggle. Signs of promise were beginning to show at Iselin Kennedy, as well. Holman is 43-55 in 10 seasons.
Now, though, he takes the reins of a program that made a meteoric rise under Meeney. The Trojans were 17-10 in three seasons after having suffered seven sub-.500 campaigns over the previous nine. St. Thomas was 9-1 in 2021 with a defense that posted seven shutouts.
A number of standouts from that club are set to return in 2022, including quarterback Jayden Young and fellow juniors Najee Lovejoy (WR/DB), Joell Marellis (RB/LB), Jeremiah Derlihomme (TE/DE), Ismael Bey (RB/LB) and Isaiah Marellis (DE). Among some other young returning regulars are sophomore DL Steve Coghan, sophomore DB Khalil Stubbs, and freshman RB/LB Chase Young.
“The foundation has already been laid; I don’t have to build that foundation. Jerry Smith (the St. Thomas athletic director) has put together a top-notch program over there and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to take the program the next level. “I don’t really know the (St. Thomas) kids yet, but I’ve seen them on film and watched them. There’s a really good group of solid seniors that are coming back. Even having spoken to some college coaches on the recruitment trail, there are going to be some of those kids that are considered top-notch talent,” he said.
So, what can these talented players expect to be running this fall?
“Scratch where it itches, man. I got that from Hayden Fry a long time ago,” he said. “I think you’ve got to build your offense and defense as well as special teams around your kids. You want to put the ball in a playmaker’s hands on offense, and on defense you’ve got to create a culture of running to the ball and playing tough, hard-nosed defense.”
The returning talent at St. Thomas is undeniable, though it will be testing itself next fall against bigger schools than last year in its new division in the Big Central. The division foes are Cranford, Summit, Rahway and Scotch Plains-Fanwood, younger brother Austin’s team.
The Holman brothers coached against one another the past two seasons, with Scotch Plains winning both by wide margins.
Time to flip that script, Tarig said.
“That’s my baby brother,” he said. “I want him to win every single game except for one. This year, maybe two; I’ll still be rooting for JFK.”
Just as Holman is still rooting for any student-athlete under his guidance.
“You don’t coach a kid for a year or a season. For me it’s something that never ends,” he said. “It’s really cool to see some of the kids I’ve had an opportunity to coach and even teach and see how they’ve grown to be tremendous men and husbands and wives and really good people, and see the growth they’ve had.”
Also cool for Holman was Tom Brady’s recent announcement that he would not be retiring from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after all. The seven-time Super Bowl champion QB and five-time Super Bowl MVP was intercepted by Holman twice in a 1998 game. Michigan did win, though, 12-9.
“I’m just glad he didn’t retire. Now I’ll get a little more mileage out of that story,” Holman said.
But on a more serious note:
“I just grateful for this opportunity, and grateful for what Coach (Meeney) was able to do at St. Thomas. It’s a tragedy. The community and the kids are healing and definitely mourning the loss of a coach. But being able to be part of that process is going to be a tremendous opportunity for me.”
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Mike Kinney can be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeKinneyHS.
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