New Hampshire鈥檚 Sean McDonnell calls it a career after 23 seasons heading the Wildcats
DURHAM, N.H. (BVM) — Sean McDonnell has been a Wildcats鈥� lifer after first stepping foot on the campus nearly 45 years ago. Now, the University of New Hampshire head coach announced that his time with the program has come to an end.聽
鈥嬧��”It’s time,” McDonnell in his retirement announcement. “It’s time for a new face, new ideas and a new way of doing things around here. I can’t begin to say thank you enough for the opportunities the University of New Hampshire has given to me: as a student, as an assistant coach and then as its head football coach. This has been the honor of a lifetime.
“I’ll forever be grateful to the fans, the administration, the alumni, my coaches and most importantly, my players and my family.”
The long-time Wildcats coach has racked up 157 career wins throughout his time as head coach, ranking him second in UNH history behind Bill Bowes.聽
Coach Mac’s first role with the program began in 1975 when he started his coaching career as the team鈥檚 defensive backs coach. McDonnell would go on to serve eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Wildcats, including five as offensive coordinator.
The Saratoga Springs, New York native took over the reins of the UNH program in 1999 becoming the 19th coach in school history. During his tenure, the Wildcats enjoyed a 14-year run of NCAA playoff berths and 14 playoff victories from 2004 to 2017.
“Words alone cannot capture what Sean McDonnell has meant to this University, the athletics department and the sport of football in the state of New Hampshire,” . “Legacy, legendary, transformative and visionary are words frequently used to describe great people and their accomplishments, but often fall well short of the truth. I’m here to tell you these terms truly embody Sean and just begin to skim the surface of his magnitude.
“His record is indeed legendary, his deeds have been transformative and he possessed a vision for playing football the right way that played out every Saturday, week after week, season after season. Most of all, though, he is a man of enormous integrity, honesty and virtue. His role-modeling and mentoring thousands of young men will not be replaced; we can only hope to take what he has given us and carry it forward.”
McDonnell had recently missed out on coaching during the 2019 season after announcing his battle with cancer. The coach returned to the program the following year, taking over during the shortened season. After the recent down season, the long-time UNH coach will still go down as one of the program’s winningest coaches helping lead his teams to conference championships in 2005, 2012 and 2014. He also helped UNH to back-to-back national semifinal game appearances in 2013 and 2014.
With the coaching position now open, the schools announced it will likely fill the head coaching vacancy in the coming days, according to the program鈥檚 .
