Current DDHS coach starred at Burlington in 1990s
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
Former Burlington High School all-state receiver and current coach at Delavan-Darien High School Steve Tenhagen is the leading candidate to become the next head football coach at his alma mater, according to multiple sources outside of school district administration.
Whether the district finalizes a formal offer to Tenhagen will largely hinge on a pair of Burlington Area School District meetings set for Monday.
Superintendent Peter Smet on Tuesday confirmed that a closed-session meeting of the Personnel Committee held a day earlier addressed, among other things, the hiring of a new football coach.
However, details about that hiring had yet to be worked out. Smet was hopeful that the hiring would be addressed at the March 10 Personnel Committee meeting and the School Board meeting that followed.
“If everything falls into place, we hope to have that resolved,” Smet said.
Personnel Committee Member Larry Anderson said that a hiring was not “100 percent there,” and that the issues discussed in the closed session were not voted upon.
“There’s still some things that need to be answered,” Anderson said. “It didn’t get a vote.”
BHS Activities Director Eric Plitzuweit, who spearheaded the coaching search, said Tuesday that he had nothing to report on the situation.
Reached by email on Tuesday, Tenhagen deferred all questions to Burlington High School.
“I think it would be best if you contact BHS about the head coach position,” Tenhagen responded. “The school announces these types of things.”
Often times in situations such as this, school districts consider whether or not to also extend a teaching position to the coach, which has become typical among larger-enrollment schools for high-profile coaching positions such as football.
Because the Personnel Committee is involved, it is likely officials are considering such a package.
Tenhagen is currently a physical education teacher at Delavan-Darien.
He compiled a 33-36 overall record in seven seasons at DDHS from 2007-13. The last winning season was 2010, when the Comets finished 11-2 and won the Southern Lakes Conference.
His teams are known for their explosive offense, which mirrors his playing days.
As a player, Tenhagen was a first-team all-state wide receiver as a senior at Burlington in 1996, with 56 catches for 934 yards and 14 touchdowns. He went on to become an all-conference tight end at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he is the fifth-leading receiver all time in terms of yards.
At BHS, Tenhagen was part of a powerful air attack. On the other end was current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
In 1996, Romo’s junior season, Burlington won the Southern Lakes Conference title, went 9-3 after a 0-2 start and advanced to the third round of the playoffs.
Should Tenhagen eventually be hired, the relationship he has with Romo bodes well for the future of the annual football camp hosted by the BHS program and featuring Romo as the name instructor.
Burlington’s new football coach will replace Hans Block, who stepped down at the end of last season. In his 12 years at the helm, Block was 59-56, with four trips to the playoffs – two past the first round.
Check myracinecounty.com next week for possible updates to this story following Monday’s meetings.
Staff members Jennifer Eisenbart and Mike Ramczyk contributed to this story.
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So let me get this right..
We are replacing a coach with a winning record, albeit not very good for the last few years..
For a guy who has an overall LOSING record, and hasn’t had a winning record since 2010.
Who is making the choices at BHS?
This is not a slam on Coach Tenhagen, but how is this a positive change?
I hope I’m wrong.
Coach Tenhagen has already told his former players at Delavan-Darien High School that he as accepted the head coaching job at Burlington, so this is a done deal. Steve will be the coach at Burlington next year.
As for if this is a good fit or not, there are a couple if things to keep in mind. First, being a head coach at the high school level takes a huge time commitment, it is a year round job, with very little pay. This has to be a true passion for these guys. Keep in mind that high school coaches are teachers first and foremost, and their coaching must be done after the school day. Because of this there are not a ton of guys out there even willing to take on this time commitment. Secondly, high school coaches need talent. It has been well documented that Burlington has struggled recently with having talented players, and this has nothing to do with coaches. While Steve is a good coach, so was Hans Block. When Steve had good athletes, his DDHS team made a nice run. When Block has good athletes, his BHS team made a nice run. Without the athletes to compete their teams struggled.
Clearly the offense will change now. Burlington will throw the ball more often than they have in the past, and hopefully Steve brings some excitement to the program. Ultimately Coach Tenhagen’s success will lie with the quality of athletes that chose to play football at Burlington.
Good luck Steve, personally I hope he returns BHS to the glory days of the 90’s and earlier when he was a player and BHS was the dominant program in the area.
Voice of Reason
Not a done deal. Still has to be OKd by the school board. It is, however, on the agenda for Monday night’s meeting.
I am hoping only the best for Coach “T” if he does get the job. I am just wondering the logic of it all.
There are plenty of coaches for one reason or another, didn’t do well then all of a sudden turn it on.
I’m hoping the spicket is on full force!