Tumilty resigns from Willowbrook
Citing personal reasons, newly hired Willowbrook football coach Scott Tumilty has resigned his position.
Tumilty informed Willowbrook in a letter of resignation received by the school on Tuesday, according to Willowbrook athletic director Dave Andrews.
“We did receive the letter from him stating that he was resigning because of personal reasons,” Andrews said on Thursday. “He’s a very good family man, and I respect that he’s making a decision with that in mind.”
In the letter, provided by Tumilty to the Daily Herald, Tumilty cited job security as a major reason for his decision to resign. He emphasized the reduction of teaching positions in District 88 and added that his wife recently was released from her teaching job in Salt Creek School District 48 in Villa Park.
By accepting a position at Willowbrook, Tumilty would have surrendered the tenure he’s earned as a physical education teacher at Maine South.
“The economic climate in the state of Illinois and the financial crisis many school districts are facing gives me pause for concern about giving up my tenure in a school district,” Tumilty wrote.
Tumilty is an assistant football coach at Maine South, which won the Class 8A state championship in the fall. His hiring was approved by the District 88 school board on Feb. 21 to replace Mark Olson, who resigned after a seven-year stint as the Warriors’ coach.
A 1992 graduate of Naperville Central and a Villa Park resident, Tumilty was a three-sport standout in high school and was inducted into Augustana’s athletic hall of fame in 2009.
Andrews said Willowbrook already is moving forward to replace Tumilty. Andrews said the likely scenario will involve the hiring of a one-year interim coach to carry the program through off-season workouts and through the 2011 season.
Like with Tumilty’s hiring, Andrews said the hiring process for a permanent head football coach will be conducted after the 2011 season.
Andrews, however, will not be part of the hiring process. After six years as Willowbrook’s athletic director, he has resigned to take the same position at Batavia.
The departure of Andrews was cited by Tumilty, who noted in his letter of resignation that Andrews “was instrumental in hiring me.” Tumilty also expressed “concern over the amount of support I would receive as a new head coach in the district.”
Andrews said Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause hopes to have an interim football coach in place within a week and added that it could be someone from within the Warriors’ current coaching staff.
Tumilty is grateful about being granted the opportunity to become a head coach, but stressed that his family needs come first.
“Again, I sincerely regret having to resign from my teaching and coaching positions,” he wrote, “but I’ve grown to realize that my concern for my family is more important than satisfying my personal goals of becoming a head football coach at this time.”