Robbie Gould set to be new football coach at Rolling Meadows
Rolling Meadows High School found a familiar name to be its next football coach.
Friday morning, former Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould was introduced to the Rolling Meadows players as their new head coach for next season. That came after the resignation of former coach Sam Baker just before Christmas.
Gould was on hand in the Black Box Theater at Rolling Meadows to be introduced to his new players and meet with current staff. The media was also on hand for interviews with Gould and some of the players but were denied access and escorted out of the building by Patrick Mogge, the District 214 Director for Community Engagement and Outreach.
Mogge told the Daily Herald that this was a players-only meeting and the meeting was not open to the media.
The District 214 school board met Thursday. But it appears Gould’s hiring was not on the agenda.
The District 214 school board met Thursday for a workshop at Wheeling High School. During that meeting, in closed session, the board members met to discuss personnel changes to the district.
The District released the personnel transaction report from that meeting this morning. But Gould was not part of the new hires.
The rumors of Gould’s hiring have been around for the last few weeks. But Rolling Meadows just completed interviews late last week and Thursday’s board meeting would have been the first opportunity to approve his hiring.
Gould, an assistant coach at Fremd last year in the latter part of the season, was one of many candidates who applied for the Rolling Meadows’ coaching position.
Gould takes over a Rolling Meadows program that went 2-7 last year and 4-5 the previous year, missing the playoffs in both seasons.
Gould was signed as a free agent with the Bears in 2005. A fan favorite, he became the most accurate field-goal kicker with the Bears until he was released by the Bears in a cost-cutting measure in 2016.
Gould spent part of that season with the New York Giants before signing with the 49ers in 2017. He helped the 49ers go to the Super Bowl in 2019 and cemented his status as a favorite of Bears fans when he kicked a field goal as time expired in the 2021 season to eliminate the Green Bay Packers from the playoffs.
He spent the 2022 season again with the 49ers and left after that season concluded. He officially retired from the NFL last December after 18 seasons.