BUCYRUS — As Dorothy Gale said in The Wizard of Oz “There’s no place like home.”
That sentiment was the deciding factor in Tim Plumley’s decision to return to Bucyrus High School as the new head football coach.
Plumley was selected from a group of over 20 applicants to become the head man for the Bucyrus football team, according to a press release issued March 13 by BHS athletic director Kelli Williams.
“I’m excited to be back,” Plumley said. “This really has been a goal of mine for a long time. I was a little Bucyrus Redman that needed some help and I got it from adults and the school itself. I want to develop a family atmosphere. We’ll be demanding, but it really needs to be a family.”
A 1989 BHS graduate, Plumley played football and basketball for the Redmen. He then joined the Bucyrus football coaching staff under John DiPietro in 2003 and stayed on the staffs of Jake Bruner and Aaron Eckert through the 2017 season.
In 2018, he accepted the head coaching job at Cardington-Lincoln, where he has been the past two seasons. Even though Bucyrus was his dream job, leaving the Pirates was not an easy decision.
“It’s tough when you’re a coach. You really get close to all the kids,” Plumley said. “But there are certain opportunities like going back home you don’t want to miss. The people in Cardington were great. They accepted me and my wife (Amy). It was hard to leave.”
Conditions at the time of his arrival at his alma mater were not exactly what Plumley had hoped for. With the limitations exacted by the coronavirus pandemic, he cannot have immediate contact with his team to get things going.
“I’m really torn right now. I’m raring to go,” Plumley said. “I want to meet with the kids and tell them what our expectations are.”
Plumley had an advantage that most incoming head coaches wouldn’t have in that he knows the community and is even familiar with the incoming seniors, who were freshmen his last year in Bucyrus before he left for Cardington.
While he will not be taking a teaching position, Plumley will still be able to spend a reasonable amount of time in the high school. He is a partner in Mohican Sports Medicine and can thus flex his work hours to accommodate his coaching.
“I work at odd hours. I get up very early, which allows me to work on football stuff,” Plumley said. “Plus, I have a great staff which is as much into it as I am.”
When Eckert left after the 2018 season, Plumley passed on the job since he had only been at Cardington one year. Offensive coordinator Matt Makeever took over when no other viable candidates were available on short notice.
Makeever was not able to stay on as head coach since he received a promotion to an administrative position that made being head coach virtually impossible. Plumley expects Makeever to remain a part of the program, probably at the lower levels.
“There will be some similarities,” Plumley said. “I will get with Coach Makeever and get the terminologies with what I want, to keep things similar. The offense may be a little different, but the defense will be the same, assuming Coach (Ty) Mollenkopf wants to stay on as defensive coordinator.”
One priority for Plumley is to increase numbers of participation, particularly since the program lost a large senior class.
“That’s a big goal of mine and the program’s, that we have participation, middle school up,” Plumley said. “ You have to have numbers to be successful. You can’t have effective practices at multiple levels if you don’t have enough kids.”
He also sees football as teaching life lessons.
“It’s up to us as adults to create an environment that supports the kids and at the same time challenges them, so they get something out of the program,” Plumley said. “We don’t want to lose any kid if they can live up to our standards. Not everyone’s a superstar.”
Tim’s passion for the game and the district really impressed our interview teams,” BHS Principal Kim Radulovich said in the press release. I’m excited about his vision for our program and how it fits with the overall vision of the school.”
Plumley will assume his duties immediately and his contract will be officially approved at the April 16 meeting of the Board of Education.