WILMINGTON – The first head coaching job of Gene Delle Donne’s football career will come at a legendary place, following in the footsteps of a legendary figure.
He believes he’s ready.
The Salesianum community does, too. On Thursday, the Sals introduced the 36-year-old as the 13th head football coach in school history.
“Obviously, the pride and tradition of this place, me being an alum, a local Wilmington guy,” Delle Donne said. “To me, I’m telling everybody, after my wife, my daughter and my family of course, there is nothing more important than this place to me.”
Long history of coaching success
Delle Donne replaces Bill DiNardo, who stepped down Feb. 21 as the school’s all-time leader in coaching wins with a 157-61 record in 19 seasons. He coached the Sals to 16 playoff appearances in Delaware’s top division, winning DIAA Division I state titles in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2013.
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DiNardo also ranks second all-time in wins in Delaware high school history – only behind Wilmington Friends’ Bob Tattersall – with a 305-107-1 mark over 37 seasons.
But Salesianum doesn’t expect a major transition. Delle Donne has been an assistant on DiNardo’s staff for the last two years, serving as offensive coordinator last fall.
“I’ve been lucky enough to coach these kids for two years and develop a heck of a connection with them,” Delle Donne said. “It’s the boys that make me want to work as hard as I can to hopefully bring them success.”
The Sals went 7-4 with one of the state’s youngest lineups last fall, losing to Middletown 34-7 in the Class 3A quarterfinals after defeating the Cavaliers 31-21 during the regular season.
The new coach expects Salesianum to continue spreading the field and focusing on quick passes and runs on offense.
“I think we laid a lot of that foundation in for the modern-day spread offense,” Delle Donne said. “I just see we’ll continue to polish up on what we’ve already installed and instilled in the kids, and hopefully it will be successful.”
Who is Gene Delle Donne?
Delle Donne was Delaware’s Offensive Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 after quarterbacking Salesianum to a 9-2 season and Division I semifinal berth in DiNardo’s first season as the Sals’ head coach.
The first-team All-State pick passed for 1,351 yards as a senior and 5,011 yards and 38 TDs in his Sallies career.
He signed with Duke, redshirted in 2005, then transferred to Middle Tennessee State and played three seasons as a tight end, graduating in 2009.
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Delle Donne has been working part-time as Salesianum’s director of community relations and now will move into that role full-time.
Why was Delle Donne picked?
Sallies Athletic Director Katie Orga Godfrey said a committee that included four of the school’s head coaches and Minnesota Vikings players Brian O’Neill and Troy Reeder – both Sals alums – helped narrow a list of 13 applicants to four finalists.
“There is no question that Gene was the right answer for us,” Orga Godfrey said. “He loves the school, he loves football and he is going to take that program to the next level.”
The school has had only three head football coaches since 1976 – George Glenn, Jim Brazill and DiNardo.
“I come from a family of a lot of alumni,” Orga Godfrey said. “If I didn’t get this decision right, I knew they would all be coming after me. It’s important to the school, it’s important to the alumni, it’s important to the community to make the right choice. Gene understands all of the things that go into that.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
