COAL TOWNSHIP - Shamokin Area head football coach Dan Foor has submitted his letter of resignation to be voted on at tonight's district board meeting.
Foor confirmed Monday that after four years leading the Indians he wanted to find more steady employment. He was furloughed from his teaching position by Shamokin Area last February.
In four years at the helm, Foor guided Shamokin to a record of 16-30 with three appearances in the District 4 playoffs and a district title in 2011 that was followed by a win in the state playoffs. The Indians went 2-9 this season with a season-ending 41-0 loss to Selinsgrove in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite a final rocky year, Foor enjoyed his time at Shamokin.
"I'll have a lot of good memories," Foor said, adding that he wasn't leaving the area immediately.
"I had the opportunity to coach some outstanding young men in Shamokin and that's something that I'll always cherish.
"I'd like to thank Mr. (Superintendent James) Zack, Mr. (Principal Chris) Venna, Mr. (Athletic Director Rick) Kashner. The whole administration was supportive of what I was trying to do."
For his head coaching career, Foor is 73-74 in 14 years, including 10 years at Northern Bedford, his alma mater.
After being furloughed, Foor eventually found a teaching job at an alternative school in Mount Carmel but only after months of unemployment. It all led him to reevaluate where he was living and coaching.
"When I was furloughed, I began to question whether I wanted to come back this year," Foor said. "I had an interview at one school and passed on another interview out of state.
"Regardless of what people think, and I know there were grumblings about me being fired, I shared with my assistants that I thought this would be my last year.
"I was very stressed out for five months after I was furloughed and spent time thinking about my future."
Foor said he has applied to an opportunity to get closer to home to teach and coach.
"My effort is to get back into a school district and get closer to home," Foor said. "I couldn't do that and put in the hours to be fair to the kids here.
"I'm doing what's best for my family."
In a speech to the Shamokin Lions Club shortly after his hiring, Foor mentioned that he saw some fundamental problems with the Indians' team that went 4-6, including "fumbles, jumping off sides and hitting late."
This season, the Indians' lost 23 fumbles and didn't rush for 1,000 yards as a team for the first time in his four seasons.
"If you'd have asked me last year after we made that run, I'd say we were in better shape than when I started," Foor said. "This fall was a big disappointment for the coaches, players and fans. I won't pinpoint the why, but I thought after last year we had the program on the right track."