Post-NFL Year 2: Zbikowski and Gould square off for second time
Tom Zbikowski was back on a familiar field last weekend, when his St. Patrick team played at Rolling Meadows.
During his high school days at Buffalo Grove, Zbikowski was one of the most electric suburban players of this century and an MSL East rival.
“It was a fun game. I still remember getting jumped when I played on the kickoff team my junior year,” he said with a laugh. “This was back in 2001. Nobody got ejected.”
This Friday, Zbikowski will be part of an NFL alumni matchup when St. Patrick hosts St. Viator, led by former Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Those teams played last season, with the Shamrocks winning 44-21.
Now that both coaches are heading into their second seasons with their respective schools, it's an opportune time to ask, “How do you like coaching high school football?”
“I love it,” Zbikowski said. “I've coached Pee-Wee football, I've coached college football, I've coached high school football. I like coaching any level.”
Once his playing career ended, Zbikowski, 41, spent two years as a Chicago firefighter and EMT, then decided to get into college coaching, working at both Western Michigan and Brown before returning home last year. He played quarterback in high school, then safety at Notre Dame and for five years in the NFL.
Gould, 43, kicked for the San Francisco 49ers throughout the 2022 season, retired from the NFL a year later and made his high school coaching debut at Rolling Meadows in 2024. The Mustangs went 5-4 and made the playoffs that season, after which Gould resigned and took the St. Viator job.
Technically, Gould and Zbikowski were Bears teammates during training camp in 2013, just before Zbikowski was released in August and chose to retire.
“We've got a couple mutual friends and we usually see each other in the winter time at a benefit,” Zbikowski said. “So we've got some mutual friends. My brother (E.J.) works at St. Viator, so my brother sees him pretty often over there.”
St. Patrick posted a 2-7 record in 2024, then improved to 6-5 in Zbikowski's first season. The Shamrocks advanced to the second round of the 5A playoffs before losing to Cary-Grove.
Private schools have become increasingly successful in Illinois football the last several years. That makes playing in the Chicago Catholic League a challenge but also a great opportunity. St. Patrick beat Rolling Meadows 54-27 last week and has the top-ranked player in Illinois for the Class of 2027 per Rivals, defensive tackle David Folorunsho, a Notre Dame commit.
“I think (the players) have a lot more confidence,” Zbikowski said. “They understand that they can win and what they're capable of, so now it's keeping them humble and keeping them working.
“We beat the teams we were supposed to beat last year, but we didn't really play with the top-level teams and I'm hoping for a different type of performance this year. I'm expecting a different type of performance this year.”
Zbikowski does not teach at St. Patrick but treats coaching like a full-time job, and he said he's at the building during school hours.
Ideally, this story would include thoughts from both sides of this ex-NFL player matchup, but it met with the same results many other reporters have had with Gould: Did not respond to multiple interview requests. Gould has gone 1-9 so far at St. Viator.
Another well-known NFL player joined the mix in the Catholic League this year when former New England Patriots running back James White became head coach at Benet Academy. White recorded his first victory last week against Lena-Winslow and will face St. Patrick in Week 9.