Chad Zibolis, back row, right, was a top lineman at Nashua High School and helped the Panthers win a title under head coach Bill Hardy in the mud in November of 1997 at Holman Stadium. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – Bill Hardy remembers when Chad Zibolis was first on a football field with the varsity as a sophomore.

“When we saw he was 6-3, 305, we said ‘We’ve got to find a place for this kid,’ ” said Hardy, the head football coach at the one Nashua High School in the 1990s.

So Zibolis never saw a moment of JV football, went on to a stellar career as a lineman at South and Plymouth State, then began a coaching career almost

immediately.

And now? He’s the new Nashua High School North football coach, but Zibolis knows from whence he came.

Chad Zibolis, right, and Dante Laurendi have coached together for the better part of the last 15 years, and celebrated the Nashua North 2020 Divison I state title. (Courtesy photo)

Hardy was Zibolis’ elementary school gym teacher at Dr. Crisp, and when Hardy moved to the high school, Zibolis did as a student.

“I’ve been with Bill Hardy forever,” he said. “I’ve always looked up to him. I’d love to take on a legacy that he has. The kids who played under him are still like family to him. … He’s basically a second dad to me.”

And Zibolis wanted to follow in those footsteps.

“When I first started, I knew I wanted to be a head coach at some point,” Zibolis said. “I think the biggest thing was for me to be the next Scott Knight – the O-line guy, the weight room guy. That was my first goal, which happened pretty quick.”

His first year as coach was in Hardy’s last season as the linebackers coach, and then when Knight took over the program the next year, Zibolis took over his former spot as the offensive line coach, etc.

Next came The Split, and Zibolis ended up at Nashua North as their Knight under Jason Robie. “And it just kind of went from there,” he said. “I always wanted to be a head coach, but the timing was never really right when things opened up. And it finally opened up.”

But perhaps the best thing that gave Zibolis the tools to become the Titans new head coach were his four seasons as their wrestling coach, where he revived what had been perceived as a dying program. “It was good experience being a head coach and learning all that type of stuff,” he said, noting that giving up the wrestling job was tough but the demands of both were tough because they overlap in November.

“I felt the wrestlers wouldn’t be getting all of me if I was the head football coach,” he said.

Zibolis has been Laurendi’s right hand man for the last several years. When Robie brought Laurendi on as the offensive coordinator, the coaching chemistry between he and Zibolis was obvious.

“As soon as I met Dante, we just clicked,” Zibolis said. “Yeah, he was a spread offense, and I was kind of a Wing-T line blocker, but we kind of meshed the two together eventually.

“He was an O-line guy at (Boston University) as well, so he kind of trusted me and I trusted him.It just kind of worked out and we clicked and it grew from there.”

To the point when Laurendi got the Merrimack High School head job back in 2014, he took Zibolis with him – but to not just work with the offensive line, but to be the offensive coordinator.

“I was nervous at that point,” Zibolis said.”O-line is a tough position to coach, but you’re not really in charge of the quarterback or the running back. It’s different. A lot of times O-line coaches aren’t offensive coordinators. But I think it worked out nice.”

PLAYING DAYS

What worked out was Zibolis’ career as a lineman at the one Nashua High, culminating in a state title win over Londonderry in the mud at Holman Stadium in 1997.

“He was kind of custom made for it, you know,” Hardy said. “For a big kid, he was as athletic as a kid we ever had. He could teach gymnastics, play anything, too. He could roller blade. He was just big.”

Zibolis never played a JV football game, part of a sophomore class that played on varsity right away. Originally, Hardy and Knight wanted to make him a center because there were some ahead of him.

In fact, Zibolis worked as a long snapper, and was so good at it Hardy thought the University of New Hampshire would offer him a scholarship.

But Zibolis didn’t want the glitz of Division I and went to Plymouth State, where he thrived.

“He knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to teach phys ed,” Hardy said. “And he was more comfortable in a Plymouth setting. It’s a business at the next two steps up. That was a better fit for him.”

It’s decisions like that that made Hardy realize Zibolis had things in perspective, and perhaps could be a good coach someday.

“When I saw what he did from his sophomore to his senior year, he really grew up,” Hardy said. “He led by example, and I don’t think he realized he was a leader until maybe his senior year. Some of the younger linemen were getting a ride home from him, and he took care of that group of guys. … He protected all those kids.”

Now Zibolis makes sure those players are getting the same kind of leadership on the team he coaches.

•••

RETURN TO NORTH

Zibolis had good fellow assistants around him there, especially in the passing game, and when he followed Laurendi back to North, Zibolis has had Zach Harris work with him in the passing game. “Being the O-line guy and calling the plays kind of worked out. I really enjoyed it.”

And now, he’s in charge.

Zibolis understands that the stuff that “doesn’t have anything to do with football can kind of wear on you”, and that’s what he saw happen to Laurendi. He would love to have a refreshed Laurendi opt to return to the staff after some time off. “He’s not done coaching,” Zibolis said.

And it will be some time before Zibolis is, too. His wife, when talking about the job, told him, “This is what you are. You coach. It’s what you do.”

“Yeah, I like being known for that,” he said.

That’s why being named the Titans head coach gives him a special feeling.

“It’s just an unbelievable opportunity,” he said. “Just being a Nashua guy. … Taking that spot over is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m really excited to be able to do it.”

He wants to instill a sense of responsibility among the players, feeling that the situation and restrictions surrounding the pandemic offered easy outs for student athletes.

“Hopefully we can change that culture,” he said.

What type of coach will Zibolis be?

“I talked about this in my interview,” he said. “I’ve worked with a lot of coaches. Bill Hardy. Scott Knight was a big mentor for me, I was a student teacher under him. Jason Robie was an unbelievable motivator. Coach Laurendi who is a players coach and just knows the game of football. And Paul Rousseau (Bishop Guertin wrestling coach), he was unbelievable for me for wrestling. Everything I did, I looked at him and tried to morph myself into for wrestling.

“All those guys. They all have different parts of them that were great. I’m hoping I can forge my own trail, but learning from those guys you kind of take something from all of them and bring it into coaching in some way. That’s what I hope to do.”

In wrestling, when formats were always discussed among the state’s coaches, “I kind of kept my mouth shut because everybody’s been there a long time.”

But the sport taught him a lot about being a head coach. Or, as Hardy said, “the difference between being on the staff and being in charge of the staff.”

“I think the biggest thing is just managing stuff,” Zibolis said. “People don’t realize how much goes on in wrestling with being weight certified, and sending your weights in each week, and this kid has two weigh-ins, plus three matches at this weight by this date. The organization with wrestling forces you to be on top of your stuff constantly. That part of it , big time.

“And dealing with parents. Wrestling is a little easier in dealing with parents. It’s like, ‘Why is my kid not wrestling?’ ‘It’s because this kid beat him.'”

But all those details helped. “Just getting the kids to practice, getting them to work hard,” he said. “You learn little things here and there, what works and what doesn’t. That’s what I hope I can bring into the football program as well.”

Zibolis thrived at Plymouth State, and began his career in teaching, student teaching in both the Londonderry and Nashua systems. And when he coached at Nashua under Hardy and Neville, “that was old school football right there.”

Is he an old school coach?

“I believe so, yes, I think I’m an old school guy,” Zibolis said. “But don’t get me wrong. There’s old school guys that are intimidating and hard to approach, but I think I’ve got that old school mentality but I believe I’m still approachable and I have a pretty good time with the kids.”

“He’s a great teacher,” Laurendi said. “He’s great with the kids as far as how he communicates with them. He’s not a yeller, he’s not a screamer, he explains stuff. You know if he gets animated, there’s something going on. … A very calm presence, especially on game day.”

He still says a “dream job is being an O-line coach” which is why he plans on still working with that unit at North.

“We always would say that,” Zibolis said. “Nothing to worry about that, you’re coaching the O-Line, that’s what you do, you’ve got good kids who just kind of like to be there and enjoy.”

He wants to stay with the line “to keep the fire of coaching” while the plan is to keep the staff that Laurendi had mainly in tact, with Harris likely ascending to offensive coordinator.

“I have a guy in place for the O-line to kind of weave myself out of it,” he said, “kind of working together. But the other thing I want to do is have everyone have an offensive and defensive position.”

Why? Big picture and more harmony.

“We have an offensive staff and a defensive staff and we’re kind of butting heads in practice,” he said. “Now it’s going to be a little bit different. If I’m the head offensive line coach, I’m also the assistant defensive line coach.”

He’ll likely add to the staff. Indeed, Zibolis is a man with a plan.

The biggest thing when he became a coordinator “was not being on the field any more” as he watched from the press box. Now he’ll be back on the field.

“That was hard, I was always on the field with my O-Line, making adjustments and things. Being up top, you see the game completely different. At first I kind of didn’t like it. But then it was nice, quiet up there, you could focus on your play call. But the hard part was not communicating on the part that would need to be fixed.”

Laurendi, though, said that making those adjustments even from high above the field was a Zibolis trademark.

“His in-game management and adjustments, and how he sees the game were key,” Laurendi said. “Not just play calling but techniques or making some adjustments with the kids. He’s outstanding with that, he always has been.”

“It’ll definitely be an adjustment,” Laurendi said of the difference between being an assistant and a head coach. “But one advantage he has is he has the entire staff coming back. He didn’t have to come in an hire a new staff. We’ve been together like 10 years. So that takes some pressure off from the game day stuff. He has guys he can trust.”

He will be on the sidelines and not in the press box any more, he says, as the head coach. Of course, has it him yet that he’s the top guy now? Yes, after he met with the players last month.

Having Zibolis being named head coach gives Hardy a special feeling too.

“Oh yeah,” Hardy said. “That’s the best feeling in the world, it makes it all worth while.”

“He’ll handle it great,” Laurendi said. “He’s got that composure, he has that experience. It’ll be a little bigger scale because of the number (of players), but he’s looking forward to it.

“I know he’s going to be great.”