Davis out at Dundee-Crown

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:10PM

Dundee-Crown's beleaguered football program will have a new coach next season.

Mike Davis, who led the Chargers for the past seven years, informed his players at Tuesday's postseason banquet that he will not return for the 2011 campaign.

Davis was given an opportunity to resign in a meeting last Friday with D-C principal Lynn McCarthy. When Davis declined to step aside he was told he would be removed from the position.

"I'm very disappointed and I'm sad about the situation," Davis said Thursday. "The principal is in charge and it's her call. Do I agree with it? No. I'm just very disappointed."

Success on the gridiron has been hard to come by lately for D-C, which hasn't reached the playoffs since 1994. That is the longest playoff drought among area teams.

The program's woes reached a new low in 2010 as the Chargers finished 0-9, marking the first winless season in school history.

"I had a great relationship working with Mike and it's hard when you've worked with a guy for a long time," D-C athletics director Dick Storm said. "But for the sake of the kids we wanted to try to go in a little different direction."

Davis took over in 2004 after former coach Chuck Feldmann unexpectedly resigned following the 2003 campaign. Like his predecessors, Davis found life in the ultra-competitive Fox Valley Conference difficult.

The Chargers are currently in the midst of a 17-game overall losing streak that dates to Week 1 of the 2008 season. D-C has also lost 21 consecutive conference games dating to 2006.

A series of injuries to key players this fall didn't help the cause for the Chargers. They allowed more points than any team in the area and their offense tied for the lowest number of points scored.

Despite the rough track record, there is optimism on the horizon. During the 2010 season D-C's freshman team finished 7-2 and its sophomore squad went 5-3-1.

"We have some hope, so we just want to bring the right person in to develop it and keep it going," Storm said.

Storm added that the job has yet to be posted, so a new coach likely won't be hired any time in the near future.

For Davis, the fact that the lower levels excelled last season is just another bitter pill to swallow.

"Basically the guy that gets the job is going to look like a genius because he's going to have some good classes," said Davis, who will continue to work in the school's social studies department. "It's just disappointing I'm not going to have a chance to work with those kids."

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