Bothe steps down at Oregon

John Bothe will continue to be around school athletics in Oregon, but it won’t be in the capacity he has become most known for.

Bothe, 49, resigned as head football coach at Oregon High School after 19 mostly successful seasons. His resignation was accepted by the Oregon School Board on Monday night.

The main reason Bothe cited was that the year-round grind of being a varsity football coach was getting to be too much.

“Over the last year, it’s become evident to me I don’t feel like I have the push that’s needed to do the year-round things that a head coach in this position needs to do,” Bothe said. “I didn’t have the push to do the things the way I had always done them. That’s by far the number one reason.

“As I started to think more seriously about it, I thought, ‘Is there a way I can do it differently? Can I delegate more stuff, or delegate everything?’ To me, I didn’t feel like I’d be giving it justice, and I was afraid if I stayed on and did that, things would decline. I wouldn’t be doing a service to the district or the players.”

Bothe informed OHS Athletic Director Mike Lawton of the decision on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 4 days after the regular season concluded. He let his coaching staff know about it a few days later, and then met with returning players a few days after that. He also texted the outgoing seniors about the move.

“We’ve always had a great staff here,” Bothe said. “They’ve been great with each other, with me, and with the players. The players are why we do this. It was really difficult when you get them all around you and you’re the only coach that they’ve known, and you’re telling 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, it was very difficult.”

Bothe was an assistant coach for two seasons (1993-94) at AFC and three (1995-97) at LaSalle-Peru before coming to Oregon in the fall of 1998 as the head football coach and business teacher.

After a few lean seasons, the Hawks made it to the Class 3A state championship game in 2000, and have put consistent winners on the field ever since. Oregon had a 112-85 record in Bothe’s 19 seasons, with 12 playoff appearances and five conference championships.

It’s not the wins and losses, however, that Bothe will remember the most during his tenure as head coach.

“We’ve been very fortunate here with the quality of players that we’ve had come through the program and the heart they always played with,” Bothe said. “That’s something I noticed right away with Oregon. The first year we came here, even though we were in the building process, the kids bought in, and they always played with such heart.”

Bothe does not envision himself being a head coach again, but would not close the door on the possibility of being an assistant at some point, or perhaps coaching at the youth level.

“If the situation was right and I could be helpful somewhere, I would definitely consider it,” Bothe said, “but at this time I’m not actively seeking a job. I’m not going to go to coach at another school or anything like that.”

Bothe and his wife, Michelle, will now have the opportunity to attend more of the activities their three children are involved in. Twins Jed and Jadyn are eighth graders at Oregon; Jed is involved in football, basketball, track and summer baseball, while Jadyn competes in volleyball, basketball and track.

Jenae, a seventh grader, plays volleyball, basketball and track. John and Michelle plan on attending a lot more of all of their games in the future.

“You sacrifice so much with coaching, especially as a head coach, that unfortunately you miss some things,” Bothe said. “There’s been a couple of times this year where I remember watching games, enjoying them a lot, and wishing I could see more of them.”

The job will be posted within the district until around Christmas, and then outside candidates can submit applications. There is no specific date in mind to hire a new head coach, a proposition made more tricky as it will likely be tied to an as-yet-unknown teaching opening.

“There’s not a hurry,” Lawton said. “The goal is to get it done well, not get it done quick.”

Lawton has worked closely with Bothe for the 6 years he has been the athletic director, and it’s been a good relationship.

“He’s leaves a legacy behind of not just success, but character,” Lawton said. “You could ask probably every player that’s gone through the program, and it would be hard to find somebody that didn’t become a better person. That, in my opinion, is his biggest legacy. Yeah, he had success on the field, but the respect he got from his players, the respect he got from his coaches was outstanding.”

Bothe file

High school: Amboy, 1985

College: Augustana, 1989

FYI: Teacher and coach at Oregon since 1998. ... Compiled 112-85 record in 19 seasons as OHS varsity football coach. ... Hawks had 12 playoff appearances and won 5 conference championships during that time.