Palatine grad Kaider gets the nod at Pekin
George Kaider is going a long way to return to the football sidelines.
All the way to central Illinois.
The 1987 Daily Herald all-area pick from Palatine was chosen last week as the new head coach at Pekin. Kaider is an assistant principal at Woodstock High School.
Kaider was 5-4 as Richmond-Burton's head coach in 2000. That interrupted a 10-year stint as defensive coordinator for Mike Noll's perennial playoff-bound McHenry program.
Kaider also had one-year stops as an assistant at Palatine and Lake Zurich. He was the captain for Joe Petricca on the 1987 Palatine team that went 9-1 and won its first outright Mid-Suburban League division title.
After graduating from Palatine, Kaider played linebacker at Division II Winona State.
Kaider replaces Dale Patton, who stepped down after the longest tenure (21 years) and most victories (120) of a coach in the 105-year history of Pekin football.