Citing family reasons, Sargent steps down, replaced by assistant and former Tiger standout Cannao
At the end of the 2001 high school football season, the man who turned around the Memorial High School football program, namely head coach Ed Sargent, was thinking about stepping down. He had too many family commitments. The job was getting to be too strenuous.
There was only one obstacle. The powers-that-be at Memorial didn’t want Sargent to leave. So much time and energy was spent in bringing the program back to respectability under Sargent’s leadership that it would be so difficult to try to find a suitable replacement.
"He offered his resignation and I wouldn’t accept it," said Memorial athletic director Sal Vega. "I knew he didn’t seem gung-ho about coaching, but we want to make sure we were going to build on what we already had accomplished. We wanted Eddie to stay."
However, Sargent was insistent upon surrendering his coaching position. He needed to care for his two young sons. The travel constraints to and from his home in Bergen County were just too much.
"Eddie told our principal [Matt Sinisi] that everything had just worn him out," Vega said. "So we knew he was not going to coach this season."
It left the Memorial administration with a bit of a quandary. Just who was going to lead the Tigers into action for the 2002 season? It was going to be hard to find a suitable replacement with such little time before the opening of training camp.
"It was a blow to the program and to the students," Vega said. "Eddie had shown the ability to coach, but he was also great working with the kids, getting them into college, keeping them eligible to play in high school. You have no idea how blessed we were. It was going to be tough to replace him."
Enter Scott Cannao, a former Memorial High School quarterback (Class of 1987), who has been an assistant coach with the Tigers for over a decade and has served the last three years as Sargent’s offensive coordinator.
"Scottie was next in the coaching order," Vega said. "So he was our recommendation to become the new head coach."
The 33-year-old Cannao was gearing himself up for the role of becoming a head coach some day.
"Over the last two years, Eddie was giving more of the coaching responsibilities to other people," Cannao said. "[Assistant Coach] Gabe [Infante] took the defense and I took the offense and Eddie just oversaw everything. We really didn’t know he was going to leave, but we had an impression that he might have had too many things going on at home. He just felt he couldn’t do the job as best as he could and we all understood it."
When word became official of Sargent’s resignation, the coaching staff met to discuss the future. They all decided that Cannao would be the best choice, considering his experience and his position as a teacher in the school.
"We figured that it was too late to look outside the school," Cannao said. "If they did go outside, it would leave the team in shambles. It would have been tough for the kids and unfair to us. So the coaching staff sat down and decided that the best choice to replace Eddie would be me. If they wanted to keep things moving in the right direction, then they would have to hire me."
Last Tuesday evening, the West New York Board of Education agreed with Vega’s recommendation and hired Cannao as the "interim acting head coach."
Which means one thing: Cannao has exactly one season to prove that he’s the right man.
"I think we all owe it to Memorial High School to go through the process to find the best coach," Vega said. "Right now, we have turned the program over to Scottie. The staff told me that they wanted Scottie to be the coach, so I agreed with it."
Doesn’t exactly sound like a resounding vote of confidence for the new coach, does it?
But Cannao doesn’t mind.
"It doesn’t bother me at all," Cannao said. "It’s just the way the system works. You can put any term you want in front of the title, ‘interim,’ or ‘acting.’ It doesn’t bother me. I’m happy to get the chance. That’s all."
Cannao said that he sat down with the returning players, to discuss the change in coaches.
"I told them that basically everything will remain the same," Cannao said. "All the rules will remain. The kids know, regardless who’s doing the talking. I think they’re conditioned to know now. With me, I don’t think I have to change anything. I don’t think I suddenly have to become the hard guy. It was one of the reasons why I felt I had to take over, to have a smooth transition, to keep things going."
Added Cannao, "It’s like we’ve never missed a beat."
Cannao said that he has been blessed with the commitment he has received from returning assistant coaches Infante (a former Memorial QB as well, like Sargent and Cannao) and Lou Manuppelli.
"They are indispensable to me," Cannao said. "I call them both at least once a day, even after the season ends. It absolutely helps that they’re on board."
Vega realized how close the coaches were after they rallied in support of Cannao.
"During this period of uncertainty, I found out that we have a great coaching staff and we’re blessed to have them all," Vega said. "The coaches are 100 percent behind the decision to make Scott the head coach. It made things easier."
Cannao said that he never thought he would get the chance to be a head coach. In fact, when he was younger, coaching was the furthest thing from his mind.
But in 1990, Dennis DeSocio, currently the recreation director in West New York, became the head coach at Bergenfield.
"Dennis called me and asked me if I wanted to get into the coaching business," Cannao said. "I was still in college and had no idea what I wanted to do. But since I played, I thought it might seem natural. But I liked it so much that it made me want to get into teaching and coaching. And here I am."
Cannao was asked if he understands the history of coaching at Memorial, leading a football program that was coached by such immortal names as Joe Coviello, Tony Boccheri and Tony Ferrainolo.
"That’s the thing that Gabe keeps reminding me of," Cannao said. "He says that this is the most prestigious coaching job in Hudson County, one with a rich history and tradition. You hear those names and say, ‘Wow, I guess I have big shoes to fill.’ I’ll do my best."
That’s all anyone can ask for, considering the circumstances.