John Gagliardi misses coaching “a lot,” and he told Sports Headliners he expected Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Grant to succeed him at Saint John’s in Collegeville.
Gagliardi, the winningest college football coach in history with 489 victories, retired after last season. The 86-year-old legend was head coach at Saint John’s for 60 years and before arriving in Collegeville coached four years at Carroll College in Montana.
“How could I not I miss it?” Gagliardi asked.
Grant played for Gagliardi at Saint John’s and many Johnnies followers thought the long time prep coach would one day coach at his college alma mater. “I thought Mike was going to take that job,” Gagliardi said. “I don’t know exactly what his reasons were (for turning it down). Mike had wanted it and we had talked a lot about it.”
Instead Saint John’s hired Gary Fasching, a Gagliardi assistant and former player for him. Fasching headed the Johnnies’ recruiting in the past and is the former head coach at St. Cloud Cathedral.
It will be Fasching’s challenge to improve on last year’s disappointing 5-5 record and try to loosen the stranglehold St. Thomas has on MIAC football. Gagliardi said St. Thomas has superior resources such as facilities, enrollment and endowments but he doesn’t believe the Tommies—who almost automatically get penciled in as league champs—are opening a permanent gap between themselves and the rest of the conference teams.
Gagliardi said there are some “incredibly great colleges” in the MIAC and other league teams are playing close games against the Tommies. He remembered when for years the Tommies couldn’t beat the Johnnies, making the point that winning goes in cycles.
Gagliardi keeps an office on campus but this January and February have been different for him than other winters when he used to fill his time with recruiting players. He visits the office a couple times per week and enjoys receiving visitors but admitted retirement represents “uncharted waters.”
“I thought I could coach forever,” he said. “Forever turned out to be a little longer than I thought.”