Dante Laurendi has stepped down after seven seasons as the Nashua HIgh School North football coach. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – When Dante Laurendi went for and landed the Nashua High School North athletics coordinator position, he told athletic director Lisa Gingras that he’d be at North a lot longer than he would be the Titans head football coach.

The Titans found out he wasn’t kidding, as Laurendi, citing a lack of enthusiasm needed to do the job properly, stepped down this past week as the man in charge of North’s football program.

“It’s something that’s been on my mind the past couple of years,” said Laurendi, who succeeded Jason Robie seven years ago after a two-year stint as the Merrimack head coach. “You know, I guess the best way to say it when the things that used to be fun feel more like a job, the non-football stuff, the stuff that’s really important to run a program – when you lose the energy and enthusiasm to do that, I don’t think it’s fair to the kids and the (assistant) coaches. … I didn’t see myself having the same energy and enthusiasm for the non-football but important stuff.

“The off-season, the summers, all the things that are a big part of the job, a very important part, I didn’t want to do anything half-heartedly.”

Laurendi, who guided the Titans to an unbeaten state championship — their first — through a COVID-impacted 2020 season, had his North teams in the playoffs in five of his seven seasons. Last year’s rebuilding team, despite a big late season upset of Pinkerton Academy, finished 4-5 and missed the playoffs.

Laurendi met with his staff and players late last week. The job was officially posted after that.

“The decision was weighing very heavily on me,” Laurendi said. “If I was thinking about it that much, it was probably the right decision.”

Laurendi will continue at North in his faculty role and role as athletics coordinator, saying “That’s what made it so tough. I love North and the people I work with. … It just kind of came down to trying to do the right thing for the program.”

Laurendi was an assistant at Manchester Central in 2003-04, and then was the Manchester Memorial coach for three seasons. He arrived at Nashua North in 2008 and was then-head coach Jason Robie’s offensive coordinator for five years before taking the Merrimack head job for the 2013-14 seasons while still teaching at North. When Robie resigned as the Titans head coach after 11 years on the job. Laurendi, in a tough but predictable decision, left Merrimack to return to the North program as only the second head coach in the team’s history.

What’s the timetable for naming the third? Gingras, who is returning today from a national conference in Indianapolis, said last night she can legally begin the interview process after a 10-day posting period that began last Friday and figures that will begin at least by early March.

She said she would like to have a new coach in place by the school April vacation toward the end of that month “if not sooner. I would really like to have somebody in place. You know what off-season football looks like, and not knowing who’s going to apply and be the chosen candidate, I don’t know what ripple effect (if it involves someone from another school) that will have. … I don’t want to rush it, I want to get the right person for the job, but I know timeliness is important.”

Gingras said she’s expecting there may be some internal candidates from Laurendi’s staff, and other sources say offensive coordinator Chad Zibolis is indeed interested and will likely apply. Zibolis is also the Titans head wrestling coach.

The only two Titan head football coaches have come from inside the building, but Gingras said she won’t restrict the process by seeking that exclusively, nor will head coaching experience be an absolute requirement. It all depends on the pool of candidates and their qualities, she said.

“I need the right person for the job, not the convenient person for the job,” Gingras said, adding she will likely put together a small interview committee, makeup to be determined.

Gingras said had known for awhile the highly respected Laurendi was considering stepping down.

“Honestly, I was surprised he didn’t do it last year,” Gingras said. “Dante and I have talked about this for a few years. … It’s bittersweet because he’s done a lot for the program. It was tough.”

Laurendi’s future? While he is entrenched as North’s athletics coordinator, he said he wouldn’t rule out coaching in the future, either as an assistant or head coach down the road. But right now his daughter is away at school and his son, a North senior, will be in college next year as well. Not coaching would give him the freedom to see them more often. But again, he said he hasn’t made any immediate plans.

“As I told the guys, it’s just a pause,” he said. “I don’t know that I’m done coaching. Step back, take a breather, and see what happens.

“It feels weird already. It’s a different mindset.”

After a long mindest of sideline success.

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