Mark Philmore has stepped down as Reynoldsburg football coach after two seasons.
He announced his resignation Wednesday in a statement sent to Reynoldsburg football families.
Philmore has served as an academic success coach at Reynoldsburg, but was informed earlier this year that the position was being eliminated effective at the end of the school year.
"Of course, it was a tough decision," Philmore told The Dispatch. "It's my alma mater. When it came down to it, it definitely wasn't a rash decision. It was something I thought about, prayed about and spoke to some close people in my life that helped me get to where I am. ... I had to make the best decision for myself and my family."
The Raiders went 4-18 overall and 4-6 in the OCC-Buckeye under Philmore.
"He came into a really tough job and he was really good for our program," athletic director Jack Purtell said.
Philmore succeeded Buddy White, who led the Raiders to a 67-46 record with five playoff appearances and seven winning seasons in 11 years. After serving as an assistant coach at Hilliard Bradley , White was named head coach at Uhrichsville Claymont, his alma mater, in February .
Philmore also met with his players Wednesday.
"They didn't have an answer, they were silent," he said. "They just returned from spring break. They've busted their butts this offseason and have made extraordinary gains physically in the weight room putting in the work. I told them not to let this interfere with the gains that they're making."
Philmore, 39, attended Fork Union Military Academy boarding school in Virginia in 1999 and 2000 for his first two years of high school. He attended Reynoldsburg for his junior and senior years, helping the Raiders make the Division I playoffs for the first time in his senior season, finishing with 81 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He went on to play for Northwestern, ending his career ranked fourth in program history in receptions and fifth in receiving yards.
Philmore previously coached at Eastern Illinois, West Virginia Wesleyan and Dayton. He also has coached overseas in Poland and India.
He plans to continue coaching and said he already has received calls from other programs.
"I was bringing a wealth of knowledge to (Reynoldsburg), having seen football run in different languages," Philmore said. "I've been able to coach at multiple different levels, played in multiple different levels, and it's unfortunate things didn't work out."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Reynoldsburg football coach Mark Philmore steps down
