RallyNorth.net

Woodbury steps down in Peabody

Thursday, February, 07 By Bill Kipouras
Staff writer

The search for a new Peabody High football coach will begin | again | today when Dick Woodbury will tell his team he is stepping down after one season on the job for health reasons.

Woodbury, who had a nightmarish 1-10 record in his first and only season as head coach last fall, tendered his resignation at a meeting that included Peabody High principal Ed Sapienza and athletic director Phil Sheridan.

The 62-year-old Woodbury, hired last year to replace Paul Uva after the latter spent two years on the job, was hoping to coach at Peabody High for at least 2-3 seasons. Then, he figured, a younger man could take over for him | someone like his linebacker coach, former Peabody High star Jimmy Festa.

But now, the school will need to hire its fourth head football coach in the last five years.

For the record, his health issue is not life threatening, Woodbury said.

"It's a small issue. I haven't resigned my teaching job at Peabody High (as a math teacher), which I love," Woodbury said. "It's something related to the cancer I had previously. It's not a serious condition, but it will require for me to get some health for my body with medications and treatment.

"I hate to give coaching up, but I can't do anything halfway. I can't be satisfied with cutting back. When I jump into something, I jump with both feet."

The Tanners' lone victory under Woodbury was a 6-3 triumph over winless Danvers in Week 4, coming at home. The win averted Peabody's first winless season on the gridiron since 1958.

Uva, his predecessor, went 4-6 and 1-9 the previous two seasons and was forced to resign on the heels of losing to then-Thanksgiving Day foe Saugus for the first time in 18 years.

That means Peabody has gone 6-25 the last three seasons since the highly successful Ed Nizwantowski coached his last team to an 8-2 record in 2005, then was asked to re-apply for his job and not rehired.

It had been almost a half century since the Tanners suffered three consecutive losing seasons (1956-57-58).

"I lost 20 pounds over the season and knew something was up. I was really, really tired," Woodbury said. "I saw a doctor in the past week and he basically said to get out of the coaching business."

Woodbury applied for the position last year at the behest of the Tanner players. He admitted the 1-10 journey was stressful, moreso because of the dedication and commitment from the players.

"The kids were great. I love those kids," he said. "They gave it all they had, but there wasn't a single game when we had a full team. Injuries hurt us badly: a broken neck, a broken back, three or four torn rotators ... just a pile of unusual injuries.

"We were never sure of what our starting team would be, week to week. We had some decent replacements, but they were young. We had a couple of sophomore linebackers trying to tackle those big backs in Gloucester (the eventual unbeaten Super Bowl champions). That was asking a lot of those kids." He wasn't making excuses, just stating the facts.

The team's spirit was always willing, he said, despite a season where the Tanners were outscored, 298-57. They were shut out four times, scored just six points on three other occasions and had more than one touchdown in a game only twice.

"I'm really going to miss the kids. Their work ethic was remarkable," said Woodbury. "If a new season was starting a week after Thanksgiving these guys would have been ready to play," he said.

He reiterated that Festa would make a great head coach, but may need a few more coaching years as an assistant under his belt.

"It should be someone on the young side who is willing to make a 10-year commitment," Woodbury said of the new coach. "Someone with a teaching job in the high school."