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A high school football coach in New Jersey is out of a job after he says administrators balked at the idea of players working out in the offseason. Park Ridge High School in New Jersey (home to legendary Tony Soprano actor James Gandolfini) parted ways with Jim Cleary after a 4-4-1 season this past year. But Cleary, who was in his first season as the head coach after two previous seasons as the defensive coordinator, says the record had little to do with it.
Cleary told NJ Advance Media that school administrators fired him after rejecting his plan for an offseason workout program. Clearly said that the program was primarily focused around weightlifting. He added that he informed administrators of the plan before he was fired last offseason. This led him to believe that parents may have complained to administrators about the plan.
“I was in utter shock,” Cleary said. “I mean I don’t believe anything I did was a fireable offense, I was just asking, we had a disagreement on the level of commitment from the players who are not involved in a winter sport.”
Despite the record, Park Ridge finished tied for second in the New Jersey Insterscholastic Conference’s Patriot Division and qualified for the postseason.
NJ High School Football Coach Says Parents Took Issue With Weightlifting Program
NJ Advance Media reports that administrators told Cleary that some parents felt he was unapproachable.
“We were discussing offseason weightlifting programs. And I laid out in the interview process that I expect all the boys who are not doing a winter sport to work out,” Cleary said. “We put together a weightlifting program for them. I’m working with a strength and conditioning coach. And pretty much, the administration said that they did not want me to be pressuring the boys to work out. If they didn’t want to work out they didn’t have to.”
The administration then told Clearly that he expected too much of the kids given the size of the school. Park Ridge had an enrollment of just 512 in 2022-23 for classes 7-12.
“And I disagreed with it,” Cleary continued. “I was called into a meeting and was told my expectations were too much for a small Group 1 school. That I would be a better fit at a Group 4 or a parochial (school). And they didn’t want to make that commitment.”
Clearly has over three decades of coaching experience across New Jersey. He says the workout program was no different than he’d seen at several other programs.