Gogerty to return as Cedar Grove football coach

Cedar Grove’s athletic director will once again play double-duty as the head football coach for the upcoming season.

The Board of Education has approved Rob Gogerty as the head coach for the Panthers. The 2017 season will be Gogerty’s second in the position, and he previously served as an assistant coach.

“I want to make sure I can give my best effort,” he said. “We put together a nice staff who kind of helped me out doing dual roles. It also makes it kind of easier too. I get my help with that. I trust in the people I work with.”

Gogerty stepped into the head coaching role in 2016 following the resignation of Dan Casasnovas in July. He said he thought the transition went OK, but that it should be easier this time.

“I think with all of the extra stuff we had going on last year, too, as far as the locker room renovation, we were kind of misplaced the whole year,” Gogerty said. “Throw that on top of a brand new staff trying to get to know the players, I think it was a challenging year with all the obstacles we had to face.”

The football team played in Panther Park on Bradford Avenue in 2016 while the high school field underwent renovations, but the home field will be ready for the 2017 season.

Gogerty became the athletic director at the high school in 2014. He will earn a stipend of $11,194 for serving as football coach on top of his $100,885 salary as athletic director.

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Superintendent of Schools Michael Fetherman said he was not surprised that Gogerty was able to “manage wearing so many hats.”

“He never ceases to amaze me with his ability to manage his time and prioritize the most pressing issues at any given moment,” Fetherman said.

Following last football season Gogerty and Fetherman discussed the future of the head coach position and agreed it was best to continue the arrangement, according to the superintendent.

“I think we needed some consistency here now,” Gogerty added, “more for the kids to kind of get [the program] going to where we want it to go. I think that was the main goal behind the decision and things like that.”

Gogerty will be joined by Joseph Auteri, Robert Brady, Michael Risimini and Ryan Corbosiero on the football coaching staff. 

The Cedar Grove football team finished 5-5 in the 2016 season, and the head coach said they’re excited to start again.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “We have a nice core group of guys back and a pretty large incoming freshman group. I think we’re ready to go. We’re looking for some consistency and things like that, which I think we got. We’re excited to get going.”

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com