Doug Samuels says he had no intention leaving his Ravenna High School football head-coaching job, but he saw an opportunity that would better benefit himself and his family.
The 34-year-old Shelby native will be the next head football coach at Comstock Park High School, leaving his Ravenna post after a 13-7, two-year run with the Bulldogs. He’s taking on a Panthers program that in the last four years has suffered two 2-7 seasons and one 1-8 campaign.
Tim Johnson coached Comstock Park football the last four seasons, going 12-26, before the school’s administration opted to go in a different direction. Johnson remains the Panthers’ varsity baseball coach.
“I absolutely had no intention of it being two years and chasing anything else,” Samuels said about leaving the Ravenna program, which marked his first head-coaching stop. “This was just an opportunity that came up that for my family and I, it’s just a really good opportunity and really good group of people. I believe in their vision, they believe in mine.”
That doesn’t mean the decision was any easier on Samuels, whose Bulldogs finished within a whisker of the West Michigan Conference title and were on the doorstep to a Division 6 district championship in their 8-3 season in 2019.
Samuels, a 2004 Shelby High School alumnus, considers himself a “small-town" guy, he said.
Ravenna head coach Doug Samuels poses for a portrait during the MLive Muskegon Chronicle high school football media in Muskegon, Michigan on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. Joel Bissell | MLive.com
“That’s what made it so hard (leaving Ravenna), is the people,” Samuels said. “Things were heading in the right direction. We were in a place where we could compete for conference titles and deep playoff runs, and that’s what the Ravenna community expects. That’s what makes it hard.”
Comstock Park is a Class B school with an enrollment of 568 students. Ravenna is a Class C school with an enrollment of 347.
At Ravenna, Samuels was trying to restore the glory days with the ’Dogs. Between 1988 and 2011, Ravenna made the playoffs 18 times, reached five state finals and won four state championships. The Bulldogs’ 2019 playoff appearance was only the third for the program in the last eight seasons.
Comstock Park has made 10 all-time playoff appearances, including a stretch of six straight 2010-15 under then-coach Mark Chapman, who is now at Sparta. Johnson guided Comstock Park to the playoffs in a 7-4 season in 2017.
OK Conference realignment passed in October, meaning Comstock Park will be competing in the OK Silver beginning in the 2020-21 school year after being an OK blue member the last 15 years.
Comstock Park athletic director Tony Petkus said he likes Samuels’ passion for the game and his energy. Samuels will be tasked to get all levels of football in the school district on the same page, according to Petkus.
“We looked at the culture that he built at Ravenna – he’s a big culture guy, and that’s something we need right now,” Petkus said about Samuels, who was ultimately chosen from a pool of 32 candidates for the Comstock Park coaching job.
Samuels played football in high school and at Defiance College in Ohio. His stops as an assistant coach included Holton, Shelby, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Holland West Ottawa.
Samuels and his family reside in Byron Center, making Comstock Park a better fit in terms of proximity. He and wife Courtney have two young sons, Griffen (3) and Grady (1).
“It took a really special opportunity to have me even consider leaving Ravenna and this place just checks so many boxes,” Samuels said about Comstock Park. “It’s close to where we live, so my kids and my wife can be more involved and help me be more involved in their lives. And just the vision that the administration has. It’s just something that you don’t find in every high school.
“This was an opportunity for me to get back to kind of being a better coach, better husband, better dad.”
In an email to MLive, Ravenna athletic director Kyle Jawor wrote that Samuels made him aware Wednesday night that he had accepted the Comstock Park job. Jawor reiterated Samuels’ desire to be closer to home, where he could better balance football and family. Jawor wrote that on behalf of the Ravenna athletic department, he wants to thank Samuels for his time at Ravenna High School and he wishes him the best.
The Ravenna AD said that meetings will begin with the school’s administration team to formulate a plan to hire the next football coach.
“It was an amazing experience (at Ravenna),” said Samuels, who held a meeting this afternoon at Ravenna to inform players that he was leaving. “The kids completely bought in, we had a staff that was second to none and they’re just a bunch of (quality) guys. That’s the part that gets lost in a decision like this – it affects so much more than just you.
“There’s a lot of people’s lives that are affected by this,” he continued, growing more emotional. “But that makes it tough.”
By day, Samuels is employed as a content manager for Football Scoop, a website covering various levels of football from high school to the NFL. He had an office in the school at Ravenna, and Petkus and Samuels both confirmed that he’ll have a place in the school at Comstock Park.
Petkus said that a coach being in the school is crucial to building relationships with the student-athletes.
Samuels disagreed with the sentiment that going from Ravenna to Comstock Park was the next logical move in his career path.
“The steps I took (as an assistant coach) were to get me to a head-coaching job, some place where I could make an impact and win a lot of football games and be a part of a community with my family and I. Ravenna checked all those boxes,” Samuels said. “I was never looking for the next job. … To me, it’s more important being a head coach at the right spot than being a head coach at the (big) spot.
“I don’t plan on doing this again (changing jobs) – I’ll do it one time and it’s such a kick in the shins. I’m not chasing jobs – there’s more important things in life.”
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Football coach leaving Ravenna to pursue ‘family opportunity’ at Comstock Park - MLive.com
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