Pass-happy Zeman back on sideline

Updated: April 25, 2011 6:24AM

Fenton hiring an assistant football coach would not usually be classified as newsworthy.

But because the Bison's new offensive coordinator is none other than Otto Zeman, this ranks as one of the more intriguing personnel moves of the year.

Zeman didn't coach last season, for the first time in 40 years, because he was pushed out at Riverside-Brookfield after the 2009 season. His teams there went 163-118 in 28 seasons with 13 IHSA playoff appearances, including 11 postseason berths in his final 14 years.

Those R-B teams also filled the IHSA record books, thanks to Zeman's pass-happy offensive philosophy. In Zeman's final season, R-B receiver Mark McDonagh set a national high school record with 165 catches. Eight years before, when future Illinois quarterback Tim Brasic was calling the signals, the Bulldogs passed for 5,056 yards and 62 touchdowns, both IHSA records.

Zeman spent last season watching games from the stands, but it wasn't the same.

"I really did miss [coaching] a lot," he said. "I think I still have a passion for working with the kids."

So the stars were aligned last winter when Zeman crossed paths with Fenton coach Mark Kos, who asked him to sit down and talk about the Bulldogs' passing game. One thing led to another, and Kos wound up offering Zeman the keys to the Bison offense. Both men saw it as a win-win situation.

"Teams have always viewed us as a run-first type of ballclub," Kos said, "[thinking], ‘If you can force them to pass, you take them out of their comfort level.' ''

If anyone could help Fenton shake that reputation, it's Zeman. He has always been one to push the envelope from his five-receiver sets to his embrace of the controversial and eventually banned A-11 formation that makes everyone on the field a potential receiver.

‘He's very organized'

For his part, Zeman liked what he heard from Kos.

"The two most important things," Zeman said, "are he's a detail guy, he's very organized. And he's very positive with the kids."

The question arises, will Zeman give the Fenton offense an extreme makeover?

"It's top secret what we're running," Zeman said, tongue in cheek, while Kos insisted, "We're not going to change our identity."

Zeman says he's not opposed to running the ball, if that's what the personnel dictates. He says he used to joke with his R-B assistants that they'd decide on an offensive philosophy each season by putting the players in a room with a bunch of footballs. If they handed off, the Bulldogs would run; if they'd play catch, R-B would focus on the pass.

But just as you wouldn't hire a world-class chef to flip burgers at a corner diner, you don't hire Otto Zeman to call a bunch of fullback dives. So figure on Fenton's offense to be a lot more wide-open and for opposing defensive coordinators to have a lot of headaches trying to game-plan for the Bison.

Some might wonder how Zeman, who's 64, will adjust to not being a head coach after so many years of calling his own shots. But as he points out, he has done this before. After serving as R-B's head wrestling coach for a dozen years, he stepped down to serve on Mark King's staff at Lyons. In other words, it's less about ego and more about football for Zeman.

But what about R-B?

What will be strange is when Zeman dives into his new duties and the reality sets in that he's now competing against Riverside-Brookfield for an opponent in the Bulldogs' conference.

"I'm sure it's going to be a double-take when he puts on the Fenton football T-shirt and polo and looks in the mirror," Kos said.

When Fenton plays at R-B, Zeman mused, "it will be the first time I'll be on the east side stadium during a game."

But football is football, so figure on Zeman to fit into his new surroundings pretty quickly.

"It's different," he said. "I always thought I would end my career at R-B. I still feel like I have [some years of] coaching left in me. We'll see."

Yes, we will. And it promises to be entertaining.

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