Hickman’s Nesbitt resigns
State-champion coach will assist at CMU.

In his 26 years as a football coach, Gregg Nesbitt has never measured the direction of his career by how much money he’s earned or prestige he’s gained.

A cold and calculating strategist on the football field, Nesbitt tends to follow his heart when it comes to those off-field decisions.

And after 13 successful seasons as the head coach at Hickman High School, Nesbitt’s heart is leading him to another coaching destination.

Yesterday, Nesbitt revealed that he is resigning his coaching position at Hickman to join the Central Methodist University football staff as a defensive assistant.

Nesbitt, who turns 48 in April, will retain his teaching position at Hickman and remain the head of the school’s physical education department while coaching outside safeties for the NAIA program in Fayette. His youngest son, Ryan, will be a sophomore free safety for CMU.

Nesbitt informed Hickman’s returning football players of his decision during a 10-minute team meeting yesterday afternoon and planned to officially tender his resignation to Hickman Athletic Director Doug Mirts today.

"This is a great football job," said Nesbitt, whose Hickman teams compiled a 95-44 record with seven district championships and one state title. "It’s been a great marriage. It’s been a love affair with me and this school and this community for the past 13 years. My kids have gone through it. I get emotional talking about it.

"But I honestly think when I take my last breath, to have an opportunity - whether it’s one year with Ryan or three - I don’t think it’s a decision at all."

Nesbitt’s family, which includes wife, Jackie, and oldest son, Kellen - a senior safety at Central Missouri State in Warrensburg - has always played a big part in the path of his career.

Since Kellen graduated from Hickman in 2002, the lure to step away from the rigors of being a head coach at the highest level of high school football in Missouri has intensified.

Before the 2004 season, he was offered the offensive coordinator’s position at CMSU. After leading the Kewpies to the Class 6 championship in 2004 - Hickman’s first football title since 1974 - Nesbitt was wooed by a large St. Louis high school.

Unsure if CMU had any openings, Nesbitt contacted Eagles Coach Merle Masonholder. An offer to join the CMU coaching staff was quickly extended.

Nesbitt plans to attend some of CMU’s spring practices but won’t be expected to begin full-time coaching duties until the fall. The Eagles finished 3-8 last season.

Because CMU practices at 4 p.m., Nesbitt said it wouldn’t interfere with his teaching duties in Columbia. He would like to continue teaching at Hickman for a few more years to gain his full retirement benefits but said he might get the itch to try coaching on a larger collegiate or professional level. It will all be part of his annual evaluation.

"We’ll see what happens," Nesbitt said. "Maybe at some point in time we’ll decide to make the jump and see if we can go make some money in that rat race.

"I do know this: I’m not done with coaching. I’m going to coach, the Lord willing, for a number of years. We’ll just have to sort out where."

Although it was a difficult decision to leave a program he helped build into a perennial state contender, Nesbitt wanted to assure Hickman fans that the football program is on solid ground. He mentioned that in his previous coaching stops - a six-year stint as Hannibal High School’s head coach from 1984-89 and three years as the defensive coordinator at his college alma mater, Truman State - both teams made the playoffs immediately after his departure.

He’s especially confident the Kewpies will continue to be successful because of the impressive coaching staff he assembled at Hickman. Nesbitt was hopeful that his successor is already on staff.

"This staff is as good as you can get in the state of Missouri," Nesbitt said. "I’m not certain of anything, but I would assume they’ll hire from within, and I feel very good about where this program is."

Current assistants Steve Luetjen and Jason Wright lead a list of five potential replacements on Hickman’s staff with at least 10 years of coaching experience.

Mirts said he’d like to have a new head coach in place by late March.

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Reach Rus Baer at (573) 815-1787 or rbaer@tribmail.com.

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