Football: Frank Edgerly leaves RBC for a job at Rutgers

By Scott Stump - Senior Editor
2/5/07, 6:55 p.m.
E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com

     After leading Red Bank Catholic to a share of two division titles and six state playoff appearances in his nine seasons, Caseys head football coach Frank Edgerly said on Tuesday that he has accepted a job as the director of recruiting operations on the staff of head coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers University.
     "It's a great opportunity,'' Edgerly said. "Rutgers football now is clearly a program getting better and better, and the fact that I'm a former player there and started my coaching career there, there are so many intangibles. It was a great opportunity for myself and my family, and it was something I couldn't deny."
     Edgerly will start immediately at his new position on Wednesday, and defensive coordinator Jim Portela will be RBC's new head coach, according to RBC athletic director Joe Montano. Edgerly, who is an RBC graduate and a Rutgers graduate, informed the team in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon of his decision. Edgerly also served as the assistant athletic director at RBC.
     "Any time you invest in a group of kids and a coaching staff and have them invest in you, when you disconnect, the emotion is just overwhelming,'' Edgerly said about informing his team of the decision. "As much as you think you're prepared for it, there wasn't any way of knowing. It was clearly the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.''
    "I'm very happy for Frank,'' Montano said. "I think it's a great opportunity, it's something he's always wanted to do and he doesn't even have to move. The year before he was hired, we finished the season with about 44 kids in the whole program, and we've had over 50 kids on the freshman team the last three years.
      "I brought a guy in at 26 years old with no head coaching experience, and I'm sure some people thought I was nuts, but I knew his work ethic and how much he loved the game. It's been good for both of us. Frank got the experience to move to the next level and Red Bank Catholic certainly benefited by becoming a Top 10 program (in the Shore).''
     His teams went 48-42 in his nine seasons and last fall won a share of the Shore Conference Liberty Division title, its second division title under Edgerly. It was also the second division title for the Caseys since 1989, when Edgerly was the starting quarterback for RBC as a senior before moving on to play quarterback at Rutgers. During Edgerly's coaching tenure, RBC was perennially at or near the top when it came to the Shore Conference's most productive offenses in points and yards per game. He also coached the school's all-time leading rusher and current UConn running back Donnie Brown.
      Edgerly began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rutgers before becoming RBC's head coach. He now returns to a program on the rise under Schiano and will work closely with recruiting coordinator Joe Susan in a general manager-type role.
      "Through the direction of Greg Schiano and through the assistance of Joe Susan, we will develop the recruiting strategy and evaluate all of our needs,'' Edgerly said. "As Rutgers gets better and better, the recruiting net gets larger and larger.''
      Portela becomes the second head coach in the Shore Conference to be named late in the summer heading into this upcoming season, as Central athletic director Vinnie Casale was recently named as the Golden Eagles' head coach after the mid-summer resignation of head coach Dennis Tobin. Portela will be a head coach for the first time, as he was the defensive coordinator at national powerhouse Don Bosco Prep in the 1990s and then was an assistant at St. John Vianney before coming to RBC as an assistant in 2002 and ascending to defensive coordinator in 2003.
      "Jim is a great guy and a great coach and I'm sure he'll do a great job,'' Montano said.
      The Caseys have a host of returners back from last year's team, which went 7-3 and shared the division title with Long Branch and Wall, so the expectations are high for Portela and his staff.
      "In life, you can't control when opportunities come to you,'' Portela said. "I'm so happy for Frank. He put in so much work and time into the program, he does everything the right way, and he means more to the kids than just the wins and the losses.
      "It's not about me, it's about the kids that we have. It's their program, and we've got some great kids in the program. They know the offense and defense, and we're excited about the upcoming season.''