Jordan Lynch became a 2013 Heisman Trophy finalist at Northern Illinois because of uncanny instincts and an innate ability to make correct reads.
Those traits serve the football coach as well as they did the quarterback, which is why Lynch sensed the need for careful navigation when a Mount Carmel representative reached out in November to gauge the former Caravan star’s interest in succeeding the legendary Frank Lenti.
“Out of respect to coach Lenti, I didn’t want to go behind his back, so I said, ‘When the time comes and you want to go in that direction, give me a call. Otherwise I want to focus on the rest of my (NIU) season,’ ’’ Lynch told the Tribune.
That time came last week when Mount Carmel announced Lynch, NIU’s running backs coach, would succeed Lenti, who won 374 games, 11 state championships and six Prep Bowls during a remarkable 34-year career. Lenti is to Illinois high school football what snow is to a Chicago winter; it’s hard to imagine one without the other. Before agreeing to the job, Lynch called the man he will replace for guidance like so many conversations they have shared in the past.
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“We talked on the phone for a half-hour, and he was awesome and knows I wasn’t involved in the process,’’ said Lynch, 27. “There is no Jordan Lynch without Frank Lenti. I love the guy. He has been a second father. I care about his emotions. He told me he would be around and help me through the process. So I don’t feel awkward knowing he’s going to be super supportive.’’
Controversy surrounds the move because, frankly, Mount Carmel fumbled the handoff. Within minutes of issuing a news release Friday that portrayed a peaceful transition to Lynch from Lenti, who would remain as the school’s director of advancement, Lenti released his own statement suggesting he will coach again. Fumble!
“Contrary to what some may have heard, I am not retiring,’’ Lenti said.
Suddenly, the perception became a coach who deserved to leave on his own terms was being forced out, even as Mount Carmel quietly conveyed a different reality. Unfortunately, the wedge between the two sides only has been driven deeper over the last week. Instead of honoring Lenti as a man who shaped thousands of young men’s lives in Chicago, school officials are bracing for what comes next from a guy whose fight they know well.
Lenti showed up for a meeting Thursday intended to resolve the conflict accompanied by a labor attorney. Mount Carmel President Ned Hughes declined to comment about potential litigation, or anything else, and Lenti failed to return several messages. Attempts at a compromise everybody wants remain active.
Alumni supporting Lenti have mobilized, contacting media in defense of the 66-year-old coach who won at least 10 games in 26 seasons. Those around the program knew Mount Carmel had been discussing a succession plan before Lenti led the Caravan to a 9-4 record last season and a spot in the IHSA Class 7A semifinals. The school sought a respectful exit by making Lenti a paid Mount Carmel ambassador and allowing him to sell the football program he built locally and nationally.
The chance to lure Lynch, a popular 2009 Mount Carmel graduate in his first year of coaching after playing two seasons in the CFL for the Edmonton Eskimos, where he won a Grey Cup, accelerated those plans. Without Lynch’s knowledge, he became Mount Carmel’s No. 1 choice to succeed Lenti. According to several sources, school officials believed Lenti had accepted the terms of the transition and the language used to explain it as late as last Thursday night — and Lenti’s public resistance a day later caught them off guard. Lenti hiring a lawyer raised eyebrows, too, a source said.
Unwittingly in the middle of all this, Lynch has stayed positive by doing what he always did as a record-setting running quarterback: keep moving forward. Perspective comes easily anticipating the birth of a daughter next month when Lynch and his wife, Meg, will become parents — Lynch’s biggest first of 2018 no matter how much this new job thrills him.
“The timing is perfect,’’ Lynch said. “If it was any other job, I’d have stayed in college football, but this was too good to pass up. I feel like I’ve been given the keys to a Mercedes. I’m just glad Mount Carmel picked a candidate like me to continue this tradition because I firmly believe I’m the best person for the job.’’
At least two members of the Lenti family made Lynch feel welcome back by accepting invitations to join his staff. Dave Lenti, Frank’s brother, will be Mount Carmel’s defensive coordinator, and Frank Lenti Jr. will work as an offensive assistant.
Football won’t be the same at the 118-year-old Catholic school without Frank Lenti. But Lynch hopes one day to create a similar feeling of pride at Mount Carmel. It already sounds familiar.
“Coach used to have this saying that stuck with me: ‘It’s not a me thing, it’s a we thing,’ ’’ Lynch said. “He lived by it, taught it and it showed. He always gave success to kids and was the first one to take blame. Coach Lenti made it about the kids, and that’s what I’m going to do.’’
Lenti might be gone from Mount Carmel football, but, thanks to his surprise successor, he’ll never be forgotten.
Twitter @DavidHaugh