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Grippa returning to sidelines

The Milford Eagles have landed a new head coach. The school announced that longtime Cincinnati-area coach Tom Grippa will be recommended to the Milford Exempted Village School District Board of Education as the next head coach of the Eagles’ football program.

Tom Grippa as the head coach at La Salle in 2009 (Photo by: Mike Noyes / TriStateFootball.com)

Tom Grippa as the head coach at La Salle in 2009 (Photo by: Mike Noyes / TriStateFootball.com)

Grippa’s hire is expected to be made official during Thursday night’s board meeting. In addition to his coaching duties, Grippa will also be recommended to be hired as a Physical Education teacher in the Milford Junior High School beginning next fall.

If approved, Grippa will join the Eagles from the college ranks where he has been serving as an assistant coach at Mount St. Joseph University since 2013. Prior to his arrival at The Mount, Grippa has enjoyed stellar results during head coaching stops at Elder, Fairfield and LaSalle High Schools.

“We are ecstatic to be able to recommend to our school board a coach of Tom Grippa’s stature to lead our football program,” Milford Director of Athletics Mark Trout stated. “Coach Grippa has a proven track record of success in building winning programs at some of the top schools in the city and we are confident he will continue that success at Milford. We feel that he is the right fit at the right time to lead our football program going forward.”

After 26 years as a prep head coach, Grippa took on a new challenge in 2013 when he was named the offensive coordinator at MSJ. During his stint on Cincinnati’s west side, Grippa has led a nationally-ranked offense in two of four seasons and watched his squad rewrite the school’s offensive record book. In addition to his duties at MSJ, Grippa is also teaching P.E. at Colerain High School this year.

Grippa got his head coaching start at Elder High in 1987, inheriting a program that was coming off of two consecutive losing seasons. During his stay with the Panthers which lasted through 1996, Grippa led Elder to an 84-24 record, five OHSAA Playoff appearances, five Greater Cincinnati League titles and a regional championship in 1996.

From there, Grippa took on the challenge of rebuilding a Fairfield program that won just six games in the three years prior to his arrival. By his third year, Grippa had reversed the fortunes of the Indians’ program as FHS captured the Greater Miami Conference title and made the first of two straight playoff appearances.

In 2002, Grippa took the reigns of the LaSalle High School program and again turned a struggling program into a winner. During his 10-year stay on North Bend Road, Grippa led the Lancers to four playoff appearances, a GCL title in 2010, a top-10 finish in the city coaches poll nine times and an overall record of 59-44.

Grippa has been recognized for his success numerous times during his career, earning conference coach of the year six times, district coach of the year twice and Cincinnati Enquirer Coach of the Year in 1996. In all, Grippa has coach three high school All-Americans, four players that were named Ohio’s Player of the Year and 39 individuals that have received Division I football scholarships.

Grippa and his wife Kathy have been married for 37 years and are the parents of three children. They also have two grandchildren.

*official press release from school

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