St. Ignatius Head Football Coach Chuck Kyle to retire after 2022-23 school year

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The end of an era is near as a legendary decades-long leader of St. Ignatius High School will be hanging up his many hats after the next school year.

St. Ignatius High School confirmed Chuck Kyle will retire following his 40th year as head coach of the St. Ignatius Football program and 50th as a teacher for the Wildcats.

Kyle spent 11 years as an assistant football coach before taking the helm for the team.

But the football players aren’t the only Wildcats he coaches... He also leads the Track and Field team.

SIHS said, “Kyle is recognized as one of the country’s most respected and accomplished high school football coaches, having built the program into a national powerhouse over the course of four decades.”

Kyle lead the football program to win an unprecedented 11 state titles and be named national champions four times.

The track and field program also won two state championships under Kyle’s leadership.

As a 1969 graduate of St. Ignatius, Kyle views his role of coach and teacher as more than a job.

“This is a vocation – not a career,” Kyle stated. “There has always been the opportunity to show students if they really love what they are doing and put a work ethic into it, good things can happen.”

SIHS announced current Assistant Principal for Student Discipline and Defensive Coordinator Ryan Franzinger will become the Associate Head Coach for the 2022 season before stepping in as Head Football Coach in 2023.

Franzinger will also start teaching in the Theology department in the fall of 2022, SIHS said.

“Chico’s legacy, both on the field and in the classroom, is incalculable,” says Saint Ignatius President Fr. Raymond P. Guiao, S.J. “His deep understanding of and dedication to the mission of our school is evident in the influence he has had on generations of Saint Ignatius student-athletes.”