Football: St. Joseph hires Bill Tracy as head coach

Bill Tracy was ready to come back as a head football coach and St. Joseph-Metuchen seemed like the perfect fit.

Wednesday, the Falcons announced they hired the successful former Ridge coach to lead their program.

"I'm really pumped up," Tracy said. "As far as being a head coach again, as the old saying goes, a fish got to swim, right? So I feel like I'm a head coach in my heart and being an assistant was great the last couple of years, but I feel like I got to get back into being a head coach. It's all going to work out."

Tracy, 53, led Ridge to a 71-44 record in 11 seasons before stepping down in November 2019. He said it "was to be a dad" and watch his son Connor play quarterback at Governor Livingston High School and spend time with his daughter, Caroline, who is in elementary school.

GL football, though, had an opening, and Tracy became the Highlanders' offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. With his son graduating this year, Tracy looked to get back into head coaching.

The 1986 Union High School graduate previously was the head coach at Livingston and has a 127-101 career record. In 2012, Ridge went 12-0 and captured a sectional title. He also won a sectional title in 2008 at Livingston.

Tracy, who is a health and physical education teacher at Ridge, will also teach the subject at St. Joseph. He praised the administration and players at Governor Livingston, as well as at Ridge, but it was time to wear the main headset again.

Tracy takes over for Rich Hilliard, who coached the Falcons for the past five seasons. St. Joseph went 3-6 last fall.

"I've always had a strong faith, I think," Tracy said. "I've always tried to teach and coach kind of with God in my heart. That's kind of how I always approached it. So I do like the religious aspect of going to St. Joes. I met the president John Nolan and principal Anne Rivera and the athletic director Mike Murray in our interview process. I really liked all three of them very much. I felt like we kind of had a shared vision for how things could go for student athletes. So that felt pretty strong. It's hard to explain, I just felt kind of being pulled in that direction. So I'm excited to follow that."

Tracy heads from the public schools sidelines to a private school.

"That will be a little different and new, but I'm excited for that," he said. "I've always tried to be a quick learner, so I'm sure I'll have a little navigation to do on learning the ropes on that, but I look forward to that. The core of our program will still be in place. I think that's really the big key. The way we try to treat the kids. The way we want them to treat each other – character development and fundamentals. It's a fundamental-based program on and off the field. So those pieces will be in place. I know they have some really nice boys coming back. I've been watching them on field. I kind of can't wait to meet them."

Murray said in a press release, “Coach Tracy is truly an educator. His teaching goes beyond the X’s and O’s of the game, as he also strives to instill integrity in the young men he coaches. In our search process, Coach Tracy showed that he’s a great fit for the Saint Joe’s community. I can’t wait to see our student-athletes mature and flourish under his tutelage.”

President Nolan said in the release, "First, on behalf of our Falcon family, I’d like to extend our thanks to Coach Hilliard for his contributions to our school community and we wish him continued success in his future. Now as we embark on a new chapter of Saint Joe’s football, we’re excited to welcome Bill Tracy and his family. Beyond proving himself as a winner, Coach Tracy has demonstrated his dedication to student athletes with exemplary character. This will remain a program committed to excellence both in the classroom and on the field.”

Email: amendlowitz@njpressmedia.com

Andy Mendlowitz is a sports reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to local news throughout Central Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: St. Joseph hires Bill Tracy as head football coach