Change in the air for North Central

North Central's football team has had an emotional week. Days after the team lost its first regular-season game in almost two full years, coach John Thorne announced he will step down at the end of the calendar year.

Thorne said this announcement has been in the works for months and both he and the school were waiting for the right moment to make it public.

The school has also announced that his replacement will be offensive coordinator Jeff Thorne. He has been a North Central assistant coach since his father took over in 2002.

"They wanted my input," John Thorne said. "But the athletic director has tons of confidence and really believes that Jeff was the best candidate. That made it even more enjoyable."

While the younger Thorne will be taking over in 2015, that is the only big change that will happen on the Cardinals' staff. Jeff Thorne will continue to be the lead play-caller and coordinator and his father will stay on in a part-time position as the special teams coordinator. Both coaches made a point of keeping the staff as consistent as possible.

Family has always played a big role in the North Central program, John Thorne said, and his decision to step down fit that position. John Thorne said his wife, Kathie, was diagnosed with a form of cancer, and while she is doing well now, he wants the flexibility to spend more time with her.

"She's doing very well right now, so that's a good thing, but it's one of those things where you never know what the next day is going to bring," John Thorne said.

John Thorne said that there were a number of reasons the decision to make this public happened now. The team finished raising money for a new weight room that Thorne said he wanted to see through. He said it was also important that his team found out from the coaching staff first, and the secret was getting harder to keep.

When the players did find out, John Thorne said they fully supported him. Two captains stood up, John Thorne said, which made it an even more emotional moment.

After the new coach takes over, he said he will be happy his father is still on the sidelines with him. Jeff Thorne played under his father at Wheaton Warrenville South and has spent his entire coaching career under him. Jeff Thorne said that he has not had much time to think about the coming changes but knows he will use his father as a sounding board.

Jeff Thorne said he was informed by athletic director Jim Miller earlier in the season, and everyone from the school president down was involved. Jeff Thorne said it was clear that keeping the staff in place was a priority.

Even with the announcement coming this early in the season, Jeff Thorne said he doesn't plan on thinking much about his new role until the end of the year.

"I really haven't given it much of a thought," Jeff Thorne said. "I just don't think it's fair for this group of seniors and this team. That time will come, I will have time."

The elder Thorne said he doesn't expect much change at all. He joked that Jeff has been taking control for some time now.

"I haven't had a good coaching idea for a long time," John Thorne said. "I got too old. My job has been to really protect and take care of the philosophy and try to build team chemistry and coaching chemistry."

Before the change happens the Cardinals have a lot of work to do. After losing last week to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, they will need to regroup for Millikin this Saturday. Neither coach said they thought the team needed any more motivation, but this will only help.

"My guess is that they will probably play harder than you've ever seen them play before," John Thorne said.