BUCYRUS — Jon Butchko is returning home, in a manner of speaking.

Butchko was recently approved to be the next football coach at Bucyrus High School. He replaces Tim Plumley, who resigned after three years at the helm.

While not a native, his first head football job was at nearby Ridgedale.

“I’m extremely excited to be back in north central Ohio,” Butchko said. “My career started in that part of the state.”

An alumnus of Canton Central Catholic, his first coaching experience came at his alma mater as an assistant varsity football coach and assistant track coach. Butchko then moved on to Ridgedale for his first head football job.

From Ridgedale, Butchko made another stop at Canton CC as an assistant, served as offensive coordinator at Sandy Valley, and went to Ashtabula Edgewood as head coach for four years. He was assistant head coach at Conneaut last fall.

Being attuned to the area, Butchko comes to Bucyrus with eyes wide open, taking over a program that has won just seven games over the past three years.

“I know some of the people in our conference (N10) and what they have accomplished, including a state championship,” Butchko said. “Others are improving. We do some things unconventional, but we do it for a reason.”

Butchko runs an offense that he describes as “quarterback centric.” That should fit well with the current strength of the Redmen. Malachi Bayless has thrown for 4,546 yards over the past three seasons and returns for his senior year.

One goal of the new coach is to increase numbers of those participating program wide. He believes building a program starts with the youth.

“At Edgewood, we invested in relationships at a young age,” Butchko said. “That is something I hope to do in Bucyrus.

“We started a program open to grades 6-12,” he said. “It was an all-summer workout. We spent an hour or so in the weight room. We spent an hour or so outside playing various sports. We had 140 athletes every day. I didn’t cost anyone a nickel.”

Butchko is not looking to reinvent the wheel at Bucyrus, but he does see some changes as positive for the system.

“I think we can copy some things out there and make it our own,” Butchko said.

Ironically, Butchko is coming to the program that handed him his first loss — 21-14 — as a head coach at Ridgedale. That loss was to then head coach Jake Bruner, currently head coach at Colonel Crawford. It is noteworthy that Bucyrus was 9-1 that year.

“It’s very exciting to be in an area I’m familiar with,” Butchko said. “My first game was a loss to Bucyrus. There is a level of familiarity.”

Butchko wants to integrate himself into the system as rapidly as possible. He is limited at the moment due to his commitment to his current job through this school year and the 2-plus hour drive one way.

“I will come back and forth as best I can to establish relationships,” Butchko said. “I want to work to get to know people I’ll be depending on and who depend on me.”

In the meantime, the new coach will anxiously anticipate getting started with the challenge at hand.

“I’m excited to get to work, check boxes, and come back to north central Ohio,” Butchko said.