Lakewood High School Selects New Head Football Coach

LAKEWOOD, OH – The Lakewood Rangers began their search for a new football coach last November when Coach Mike Ribar resigned from the position to focus exclusively on the Ranger baseball program. It was a challenging season for the football Rangers — not winning any games in 2016.

The Rangers found their coach, and at the next Board of Education meeting on Feb. 6, Superintendent Jeff Patterson plans to recommend Tom Hannan, current assistant head coach at Garrettsville’s James A. Garfield High School, for the Lakewood varsity football head coaching position. Hannan, who is a licensed physical education teacher, will also be recommended as a paraprofessional employee for the district.

“It will be an honor and a privilege to be the next head coach of Lakewood High. I will do everything in my power to represent LHS and the community in a positive manner,” Hannan said. “I will hire a staff that are not only great teachers, but great role models.”

Hannan comes to Lakewood with an extensive coaching resume stretching over 35 years that includes 6 years as head coach at Crestwood High School in Mantua, where he earned the most wins of any coach in school history and twice earned Akron Touchdown Club Coach of the Year honors. He also served as athletic director for four years while at Crestwood from 1994-2010.

After his lengthy tenure at Crestwood, Hannan, a graduate of Mount Union College, held a variety of football coaching positions, including offensive line coach at North Olmsted High School, head football coach at Ridgedale High School in Morral, Ohio, and assistant head coach at Cuyahoga Falls High School.

“We are excited to bring someone in who has a lot of experience in developing a program from our youth on up,” Patterson. “Tom has come highly recommended by everyone we spoke with.”

Added Athletic Director Sean Jackson: "Coach Hannan has the experience, time and a plan to move our football program in the right direction. I am extremely excited for our football players!"

Hannan said his years of head coaching experience have helped him develop a philosophy that focuses on academics, work ethic, discipline, organization, positive attitude and accountability, and building lifelong relationships and memories. “I want these four years to be among the players’ best memories of their life,” he said.

Photo: Lakewood City Schools