Grens looking for new football coach

The next winning season for the Elk Grove football team will be without Tom Whalen.

Boys activities coordinator Jon Rowley confirmed the school's administration dismissed the head coach last week after four consecutive losing seasons and a 7-29 record, including this season's 2-7 mark. The Grenadiers went 3-17 in the MSL East and never finished better than fourth during Whalen's tenure. Whalen, a former player at Wheeling and North Central College, also never beat a team that ended the season with a winning record.

A defensive coordinator under former coach Bruce Bazsali, Whalen -- the school's fifth head coach -- struggled to get the Grens on right side of the results. A year before Whalen took over for Bazsali, the Grens won the East and advanced to the Class 7A quarterfinals.

In his rookie campaign, Whalen and the Grens narrowly missed playoff qualification with a loss in final game. But the program then experienced seasons of 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7.

EG started 2008 with a 23-20 win over Oak Park-River Forest in its opener, but the Grens lost six in a row. The Grens doubled their win total from the previous two seasons with a 14-13 upset of Buffalo Grove and former EG assistant coach Jim Farrell in Week 8.