MADISON TOWNSHIP — Scott Valentine resigned as Madison’s football coach Tuesday and has applied for the vacancy at Ashland, where he piloted the Arrows from 2002 to 2018.
Valentine spent just one season at Madison, going 1-9 last fall.
“After a lot of consideration, I decided to apply at Ashland,” Valentine said early Tuesday afternoon. “I talked with (Madison athletic director) Doug Rickert and decided that once it got out there that I applied, going back to Madison wouldn’t be fair to those kids.
“I felt it was best to resign and see where things go from there.”
Valentine’s decision came as a surprise to Madison officials. He was hired to replace Dave Stupka in late-December of 2021.
“We expected Scott to be our coach for a long time,” Rickert said. “We’ve got some angry people in the community right now and we understand that. People want to know what we’re going to do next and what I would say is we are a resilient community. We’ll get through this.
“Madison is a tough community and we’ll bounce back.”
Once one of the most stable programs in Richland County, Madison will have its third head coach in as many seasons on the sideline next fall. The Rams are 10-67 since Sean Conway stepped down after a successful five-year run from 2010 to 2014.
“I’m most concerned about our kids right now. This will be three coaches in the past three years and I’m sure they feel a little bit rejected,” Rickert said. “They gave Scott everything they could give him last year and they worked very hard.
“I don’t think Scott left because he didn’t think there was a future here. I think he left because he wanted to go back home. I just wish we knew when we hired him that was a possibility.”
Valentine said he never intended to leave Madison after one season, but the opportunity to potentially return to a program he built to prominence was too good to pass up. He understands the optics of his decision don’t look good.
“It absolutely was a difficult decision for me,” Valentine said. “The kids at Madison have a great work ethic and whoever takes the job, they have a group of kids who are ready to take off.”
Madison will begin its search for Valentine’s successor immediately. Administrators planned to huddle Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re going to find a guy who knows what this community is about and wants to be a Ram,” Rickert said. “Our kids deserve a person who truly loves the community.
“We’re not just going to jump at the first thing. There are options out there and everything is on the table right now.”
