After an incredible 33-year stint as the Marist College head football coach, Nashua High alum Jimmy Parady is retiring. (Photo courtesy of Marist Athletics)

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The son of a Nashua football coaching legend, who became a coaching legend himself, is calling it a career.

After 33 years, Marist football head coach Jim Parady is retiring from coaching the Red Foxes as the longest tenured Division I football coach in history, the school announced on Wednesday.

“I am proud of what we accomplished at Marist,” said Parady, the son of the late longtime Nashua High School coach Ken Parady, in a statement issued by the school. “I am grateful to all the great student-athletes I’ve had the chance to work with. It has been incredible to see them in their life after graduation and seeing them as husbands, fathers, having successful professional careers, and giving back to Marist and their own communities.

“I will always cherish my time leading this program. I’d also like to thank all the fantastic administration and staff I’ve worked with who help make Marist a special place, and I wish them success moving forward.”

The announcement comes after a 4-7 season with a 4-4 conference record for Marist football in the Pioneer Football League, the second consecutive season the team has finished with a .500 conference record. The Red Foxes finished fifth in the PFL standings in the 2023 season, with Parady’s career ending on a Senior Day loss to Bucknell 38-21.

Taking over as head coach in 1992 while Marist football stood as a Division III program, Parady, a former Nashua quarterback, has been the staple of the Red Foxes. He retires as the winningest coach in program history; with 155 total wins-earning his 150th in 2022-Parady finished his career with an overall record of 155-171-1 and a 58-54 win in PFL play after 13 seasons in the conference.

In his tenure, Parady has guided the program to four conference championships, including three MAAC championships and a PFL championship in 2013, when Parady simultaneously received conference coach of the year nods four years into his PFL tenure.

While the Red Foxes finished with a conference record of 7-1 to top the PFL, the team has finished with a conference record within two games above or below a .500 record since the 2013 championship.

Parady oversaw two players in his career who graduated and appeared in games in the National Football League: Jason Myers, a kicker for the Seattle Seahawks playing in his ninth season in the NFL as a two-time Pro Bowl selection; and Terrence Fede, a defensive drafted to the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the NFL draft while playing in the NFL from 2013-17.

Replacing Parady will be defensive coordinator Scott Rumsey as acting interim head coach. The longtime defensive coordinator for Marist has been on the Red Foxes staff for 26 years, with the last 23 years as defensive coordinator and the last 18 years as associate head coach.

While Rumsey oversees the current interim duties, “a national search for Parady’s successor will begin immediately,” according to Marist Athletics. For the first time, the Marist Red Foxes will see a new face in charge in the course of its history as a Division I football program.

(Dan Aulbach is a Telegraph sports correspondent, and also a writer for centerfieldmarist.com, and the majority of this article is also on that site.)

Newsletter