The high school football coaching carousel took an interesting turn on Monday night.
Joey Paridaen, who had been coaching at Evansville’s North High School, was approved to be the next Tecumseh High School coach during the Warrick County School Corp. board meeting. He takes over a Class 1A program with just one victory over the past two seasons.
The move follows a seven-year run at North that concludes with 35 victories and a sectional championship. Paridaen, who also coached at Wood Memorial and Eastern Greene, has a 71-72 record across 13 seasons. The Gibson Southern High School graduate coached Eastern Greene to the Class 1A state championship game in 2017.
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North went 5-6 last year and lost to Castle in the Class 5A sectional championship. It was only the second losing season for Paridaen at North. His best year came in 2023 with eight wins, a second-place finish in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference and the program’s first postseason title in 23 years.
The Huskies will be looking to replace multiple starters on both sides of the ball next season. Among the key returners will be all-state linebacker Ricky White Jr. and all-SIAC defensive lineman Mike Epps.
“We would like to sincerely thank Coach Paridaen for his years of dedication and leadership as the head coach of North High School football,” North Athletics Director Tyler Choate said in a statement. “His commitment to our athletes, program and community has been truly appreciated, and we are grateful for the time and effort he has put into developing our players both on and off the field.
“As we begin the search for a new head coach, we are excited about the future of North football. With a strong foundation and a talented group of student-athletes, the program is in a great position to continue growing and achieving success. We appreciate the support of our North football family during this transition and look forward to the next chapter of Huskies football.”
Tecumseh went 0-9 last fall under Bret Szabo, who announced his retirement in November. The Braves have yet to win a conference game since rejoining the Pocket Athletic Conference in football in 2023. They did have success in 2022 with an undefeated regular season.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA football: Joey Paridaen named head coach at Tecumseh
