By: Nathan Bloechl — nathanb@977thebolt.com
Humboldt, Iowa — After a relatively longer search, the Humboldt Wildcat football team finally as their new lead man.
Thursday, Humboldt Activities Director Greg Thomas made the hiring official naming long-time Iowa Falls-Alden assistant Derrick Elman the head coach at Humboldt High School.
Elman was a fourteen year assistant with the Cadets, after graduating from Morningside College where he started at left tackle.
“I’m dang excited” Elman said Friday morning. “This is an opportunity I’ve really been looking for for a couple of years and Humboldt was always a place I knew I would want to throw my name in.”
Elman will teach fourth grade in the district, he hopes to move over later this spring, perhaps into the early summer.
The job was vacated after veteran head coach Greg Thomas announced that the 2017 season would be his last, focusing more on his family and his duties as activities director.
Thomas began searching for the head coach strongly this winter in hopes of naming his successor before April.
“Coming from the NCC days at IF-A, I saw the way the players played and the fans treated their players here at Humboldt, I knew it was something that I would love to be apart of someday” Elman said.
Elman explained that he’s had brief interaction with Thomas outside of the hiring process as Thomas and former Iowa Falls-Alden coaches ran an offensive line camp together for a number of years.
In terms of schematics, Elman likens himself to much more of an offensive mind and believes that scheme versatility is must in today’s era of football.
He will begin personnel evaluation as soon as possible before crafting an offensive playbook that best fits his roster.
“Offensively, I’ve got to look and see what we’ve got. I think we could have the ability to line up in the I sometimes, we could have the ability to spread people out. I’ve studied hard and looked hard into RPOs (run/pass options) as a part of my offense” Elman detailed
Whether or not he has the ability to hire a defensive coordinator position — Tom Johnson retired this year — is unknown at this time, but he is excited to meet the staff, tap their minds and figure out the best way to attack both the offensive and defensive side of the football.
“We’ve got to stay committed” Elman fired after being asked what Humboldt needs to do to return to being a championship caliber program.
“There’s a process. It’s important. It might seem like it’s a long ways away, but if you think about it, we are only 175 days from our first Friday night. I want our guys to realize that’s all we have to get better.”