27 thoughts on “Jefferson’s Marc Cisco Retires”

  1. Isn't this a blog about Marc Cisco and all his years at Jefferson. CC people just can't stand to see some other school get the attention.

  2. Chris,
    The start of practice is almost 3 months away!! Do you have a 2013 watch list?
    Any surprises, sleepers, disappointments??
    Who takes over at Jefferson? How will Baas do at Airport?
    New Playoff format?? Who will it hurt? Who will it help?

  3. "Yes, yes… CC. Anointed by the Pope to be the benchmark of middle-of the pack Michigan football. Got it. (But great work on your success in the past decade.)"

    Past decade? Why piss on us old guys? We were good back in the day too. .720 winning % says so
    -bn

  4. Well, I wouldn't say it's a "ridiculous" idea. But then again debating with "Anonymous" on a blog about a small high school football league in Southeast Michigan probably is. Just kidding.

    Yes, yes… CC. Anointed by the Pope to be the benchmark of middle-of the pack Michigan football. Got it. (But great work on your success in the past decade.) I will agree that the new coach has got to embrace the CC rivalry.

    You both are right in the respect that this area/league does not draw the talent of actual notable Michigan programs like Rockford, Det. Nov. CC, Lake Orion, Harrison, Br. Rice, OLSM and the like… But it's not a matter of "throwing doesn't equal more points." It's a matter of throwing might not fit Jefferson. But it could because there are always talented kids there. And I think kids would respond very well to a modern game mixed with smash-mouth (get more excited about football).

    Only one season not being 5-4, 4-5, or 1-8 in the last 9 years might tell you that "blue collar kids" aren't responding to the old Bear football credo that much anymore. But you may be right, they may be ready to respond to a younger coach they already know.

    And what do I know about their coaches? – playing in the system and knowing/knowing of all these guys I can say that they are quality people and hopefully they've been chomping at the bit to bring a modern edge to a type of football many of us are proud we got to grow up in. Tradition is good, but refusing to develop because "this is how we do it at JHS" is why that school has laid dormant and lost enrollment for awhile now (not just because of football). Hopefully things overall are on the uptick. But ultimately, you're right, Jefferson will hire a head coach from what they already have on staff.

    Sticking to their guns – even when the results aren't always pretty – has been the Jefferson way. There's good and bad to that. OK – have fun with your blog and the upcoming season. Good luck to all Huron League teams this fall. Go Bears.

  5. Only people with strictly Madden and NCAA football experience think that the spread offense is viable year in and year out in small to medium size schools in Michigan. This, however, does not apply to Detroit schools and other schools that get tremendous athletes. The fact of the matter is that in order to be good with it, you need to practice it year round – which many 3 sport athletes at small schools don't have the time to do, or it is illegal to have more than a few people, a ball, and a coach practicing in the off-season. Spread programs like Ithaca are good at it because they have had Division I QB's and pull athletes from a large area. Coach Cisco had the best system for the type of kids he has at Jefferson – tough, blue collar kids. He was a great coach and is a great man.

  6. The whole theory that Jefferson's offensive philosophy needs to evolve is ridiculous. SMCC has been at the top of the league consistently and do not throw the ball. SMCC scores a ton of points running the fullhouse. There is a huge misconception that throwing the ball = more points.

    Maybe Jefferson needs to adapt it's weight room and off season philosophy and focus on speed and agility for their OL/DL instead of training them to be plodders.

  7. There are some very good coaches in the Jefferson system that were around when Jefferson was much more successful. That is fresh on their minds and I'm sure that will be the main focus when one of them is named the new head coach.

    There are some very talented kids in all levels of Jefferson sports right now, if they are given proper quality coaching and pushed hard, Jefferson will rise to the top or very near it in many sports.
    (even basketball). There is a buzz in the air at Jefferson and a new football coach will add to that, whoever it may be.

  8. Always loved how when they quoted Coach in the M.E.N. he used the word "helluva". Did they create that spelling just for him? He is always a simple, straight shooter…

    There are drawbacks and benefits to hiring a "homer" coach. Most of the coaches in the system played in it or have coached in it forever. Jefferson being so tight-knit as a community might respond well to a coach who was bred in the program. You can't knock Cisco on the tradition he built. But it might be a little stagnant these days.

    Maybe a new, outsider coach that can spread it out/air it out sometimes while still also instilling a smash-mouth attitude might be needed. It'd would seem insane not to see off-tackle play, but Bear Football needs to evolve a bit on top of that. There have always been kids with real speed sitting back as 2nd and 3rd string halfbacks. There are better uses for them (receivers, split ends, slots, etc.) Would a JHS quarterback even know how to throw beyond 15 yards on a play? Cisco, Tipton, Panza (JD), Kinsland, Eppler, and so on… all could've done some damage as passers. Jefferson receivers aren't even called receivers – they are ends. They're essentially tight ends (or pretty much guards that sometimes run 10-yard flags.) For Jefferson it's got to be about balancing the Beach kid hard-nose style with some adjustments to a modern high school game. Finally, any new coach has to be able to fire up and hold those kids to a level of excellence that they need to regain. All downtowner criticism aside, there's always a big population of Jefferson kids that need to be genuinely pushed harder to see how the lessons of Bear Football can help them be successful in life. 1-8 hasn't happened since the 70's, and Jefferson always has the potential to always to be better than that. Old school/1950's coaching is not the biggest/major factor in the recent down-turn of quality.

  9. Coach Cisco never changed for anyone. I love that about him. He told it like it was. He took a lot of heat the past couple years and it didn't phase him, or at least he acted like it didn't.
    Will Gene Gennoe be the next coach?

  10. The defensive end on the '94 State Champion Team was Craig Maddux. He was a tight end on offense too. Team MVP that year. Tony Panza was a halfback and a linebacker.

  11. Not sure any one person would know all the great players Cisco has had over the last 45-50 yrs.

    Adam Servey
    Ryan Bosonac
    Mike Williams
    Elijah Sandore
    Jason Dietrich
    Rob Todd
    Bob Karacson
    Jason Gendron
    Tom Perry
    Curtis Duvall
    Mike Strube
    Iggy Bijarro
    Tony Panza

    Just to name a few, I'm sure I'm missing a bunch. Can't remember who all was on the 9-0 team in the early 80's

  12. Tony Panza was that end.

    Rip fly 45 is a great play just not every other play.

    I believe Cisco was there 48 years, some say 50, started in early to mid 60's.

    The next coach does know all about that rivalry and was very dissatisfied with the last 11 years.

    Can't wait to see how it goes, this is very exciting at Jefferson, its never happened before.

    All Cisco team, definitely don't leave out Adam Servey.

  13. Lets do an all Cisco team.

    My vote goes to the Defensive end that played on the 94 championship squad. Not sure of his name but he was a beast.

  14. making the playoffs 2 out of the last 11 years shouldnt make the grade at Jefferson.

    I wonder if the next guy they bring in will have Jefferson ties and thus know the importance of the rivalry with SMCC. It was never just another game with Cisco as you can tell by the scores. If they could only muster that every week.

  15. Marc had a lot of good teams at Jefferson in the 80's and 90's, got to be too much for him in the late 90's and 2000's. Younger, fresher coaches will help the program tremendously.

    Rip fly 45 R.I.P

    1. I played for Coach Cisco in the seventies we've tried to power the ball with small running backs and small line it did not work

    2. what are you talking about? in the late 90’s they were in the playoffs 7 straight years, were a yard away from the dome in 01. had 3 straight all state football players

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