Larkin's Bierman heading across town to coach Elgin

If not now, probably never.

That was the thinking behind Larkin football coach Dave Bierman's decision to leave the Royals after three seasons to take the same job across town at Elgin High, his alma mater, a move announced Tuesday via press release.

Bierman replaces Elgin coach Tom Kim, who will become athletic director at Grayslake Central High School effective July 1.

Bierman, 45, has 10 years of teaching left before he is eligible for retirement.

"I didn't know how many more opportunities I'd get to have a chance at the Elgin job, so I thought I'd better take a shot at it because I might not have another," Bierman said. "I think anybody who coaches would like to coach their alma mater at some point. When you play there and coach there like I did for five years, it's always in your dreams to go back."

Bierman is a Northern Illinois University graduate who played for the 1983 MAC and California Bowl champion Huskies.

He is also a 1981 Elgin High graduate who began his coaching career under Dick Stephens at Elgin.

Bierman was head coach at Burlington Central for six years with a 27-29 overall record and two playoff appearances.

He left Burlington to become the head coach at DeKalb, where he was 5-43 in five-plus seasons.

After serving two years as an assistant at Geneva, he has spent the past three seasons as Larkin's head coach. His Larkin teams finished a combined 12-16 with one playoff appearance in 2006.

"I just want to thank everybody at Larkin," Bierman said. "It's been a great three years. I want to thank the players, the coaches, the parents and the administration for the opportunity to be the coach. We had some pretty exciting games, which I will always remember."

The Maroons have not enjoyed a winning season since 2001-02, when they finished 6-4 under coach Barry Reade and made their last playoff appearance.

Bierman inherits an Elgin team that went 3-6 last year but returns third-year starting quarterback Tom Roth.

"That's crazy," Roth said in reaction to the news. "I had no idea that was going to happen. I think it's great. I liked their offense last year. They threw the ball a lot."

Bierman has employed the spread offense in recent seasons at Larkin but said Tuesday he will wait to evaluate Elgin's returning personnel before deciding on schemes.