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SPRING VALLEY — When Randy Tieman took over the Hall High School football program in 2012 on the heels of three straight losing seasons, he desired to bring the Red Devils back to prominence.
He did it twice.
Tieman endured a 1-8 first-year campaign, then ran off three straight winning seasons with a combined 24-10 record and three playoff appearances.
After an 0-9 stumble in 2016, Tieman rose the Red Devils once more with another string of three playoff appearances.
The 2019 season’s 7-4 season with a repeat second-round appearance proved to be an encore for the Hall coach.
Tieman talked about hanging them up on the field following the Red Devils’ 16-0 second-round playoff loss to rival Princeton. After months of deliberation, Tieman decided to step away, and his decision to resign was accepted at Wednesday’s school board meeting.
He cited personal reasons, including a desire to be able to attend more of his grandson’s and granddaughter’s activities in Wisconsin.
“They’re both in sports, and I kind of wanted to get up there. It just seemed like the right time,” Tieman said. “It was a long, tough decision. I really enjoyed doing it and being around the kids and everything. It’s time to focus maybe on me a little bit.”
Tieman, who is a teacher’s aide at Hall, his alma mater, made his decision now because he wanted to give Hall plenty of time to find his successor. He said he has no idea who that might be and if there’s anybody in-house interested in the head job.
“Hopefully, they’ll find somebody to do a great job, and I’ll be there to support them, whoever it is,” he said.
Hall athletic director Eric Bryant Jr. said there has been no one on staff express an interest in the position since Tieman announced his intentions last week. He said Hall has openings for Spanish and math teaching positions, which could lead to a candidate there.
Tieman said he walks away pleased with how his tenure went. He posted a 45-39 record (44-31 after his first season), including a 7-6 mark in the playoffs.
“We had a couple down years, but we were in the playoffs six out of eight years. We think we got the program back to where it needs to be,” he said. “Yeah, I feel good about what we did.”
He said his second season on the job, when the Red Devils first made the playoffs, was probably his most satisfying.
“We won like six in row at the end of that season and got back to the playoffs. That and winning that playoff game,” he said. “We played No. 1 seed Bismark-Henning. They were undefeated. We went down there and beat them (20-7). That was probably the thing that probably got it going.”
There’s always those games you look back on and wished you could have done things differently. For Tieman, the biggest one was probably the 2015 quarterfinal playoff game vs. Annawan-Wethersfield, which Hall lost 30-21 at home.
“We had a big lead at halftime. We didn’t hang on to it. Just got away from us,” he said.
“That’s probably the game I think about the most is one we probably should have won and could have won.”
Tieman, who will turn 58 on Sunday, admits it will be tough at first not having football this fall, but once he gets used to it, he’ll adjust just fine, he said.
He said he appreciates all the support he got from the community and administration and school board over the years.
Randy Tieman’s tenure at Hall
2012 - 1-8
2013 - 7-4
2014 - 8-3
2015 - 9-3
2016 - 0-9
2017 - 6-4
2018 - 7-4
2019 - 7-4
Overall: 45-39