Sure, it was a shock when Providence Catholic High School administrators asked head football coach Tyler Plantz to resign just one day after the Celtics’ homecoming victory. Then came the media firestorm and an assistant coach who broke ranks to condemn the ousting.
Still, fans hoped the controversy might stop short of the team’s undefeated record. That was, until Friday night, when the team proved they weren’t entirely insulated from upheaval surrounding it.
“Here we go,” a fan said from the stands as Providence fell behind Nazareth Academy. “There’s going to be at least three losses in a row. I guarantee it.”
The New Lenox team’s first loss of the season came just a week after its administration announced Plantz’s ouster in a statement that offered little explanation, drawing thousands of signatures to an online petition demanding his reinstatement. That backlash carried into the stands Friday, as fans watched the Celtics build to a 17-7 loss.
Multiple parents of players declined to comment on the midseason coaching disruption Friday night. Instead, they directed questions to school administrators, whom they said they blamed for the final score.
“The kids have nothing to do with this,” said one parent, who declined to give her name, pointing toward a group of school administrators standing on the field. “Talk to them.”
On Sunday, the school framed Plantz’s firing as “a transition in the leadership of its football program,” naming offensive coordinator Adam Nissen interim head coach. In a statement, administrators said the school’s priority was to provide players with “consistency, support and a positive environment,” but did not explain why the program was moving in a “new direction.”
Plantz later said in a statement that Providence President John Merkelis had “cited problems with disorganization related to scheduling games for lower-level teams,” along with complaints from disgruntled colleagues and a few players’ parents. But the decision left many in the football community confused, with an online petition started by alumnus Tim Hanrahan garnering more than 3,000 signatures.
The petition accused the administration of failing to engage with the alumni community or consider the “repercussions of their actions on current students and the school’s reputation.” Several parents have voiced similar frustrations.
“This was an epic failure on all fronts from people who are supposed to have the kids’ best interest in mind,” the father of a player wrote in a social media post that had hundreds of likes on Saturday. “And now I see there’s coaches making public statements that is showing a fracture.”
One of those statements came from assistant coach Alex Pell, who called Plantz’s firing an “injustice” and said he was “at a loss for words” in a social media post. Responding Tuesday to that apparent division within the program, the Providence father said the fracture “better stay on F— social media and not on the sidelines.”
But in La Grange Park on Friday, the fracture seemed to have spread beyond the screen. The Celtics fell behind 17-0, briefly recovering with an onside kick before two late turnovers sealed the loss.
Plantz, a Providence graduate who played at Notre Dame, watched from the stands. He hugged several Celtics players after the final whistle.
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“No matter what, I’m always going to support these kids,” he told the Tribune.
Nissen said the team was prepared to play despite the week’s turmoil, a sentiment echoed by several players, the Tribune reported. But senior running back Broden Mackert admitted that the days leading up to the game had been abnormal.
“It was a long week,” he said.
With most parents decked out in the school’s signature green, Providence’s fan section was buzzing during the first quarter. But doubt crept into the stands as the game wore on, the mounting tension at times outshining the spiritwear.
“That’s a loaded question,” one parent said when asked how she was holding up. “If I talk s— is it going to change anything? Probably not.”
Their stands fell mostly quiet in the final minutes, a stark contrast to the celebration unfolding across the field. Some Providence parents shook their heads as the clock wound down; others shouted expletives toward school administrators and Nazareth players.
Afterward, they joined their children on the field. As Nazareth’s pep band rang in the victory, parents offered the Celtics words of comfort, pausing only to cast glares in the direction of administrators.
“Parents protect their kids,” said the mother of a Providence player. “And, parents protect other parents.”