Former Crestwood Red Devils’ football Coach Tom Hannan can recall that during his 16 years with the program as he was always the first one in and the last one to leave football practice. The winningest Red Devils’ football coach in school history is sliding back into old habits, having been appointed as Rootstown’s new football coach.
“It is just part of the job I love,” Hannan told The Weekly Villager on June 13. “I love being with the kids. It is more time but I knew that, I have done it for so long and I knew the amount of time it was going to take and I am up for the challenge.”
Hannan had recently completed his 43rd year as a football coach serving as the running backs coach at Rootstown but when Coach Chris Knopick stepped down after three years, Hannan decided to get back in the saddle as a head coach.
This upcoming season will be Hannan’s 28th year as a head coach. Although he has not been a head football coach in Portage County since 2010, he has stayed connected to the area by serving as an assistant coach for eight years at Garfield, Windham, Kent Roosevelt and Rootstown.
Of Hannan’s 132 career victories as a head football coach, 92 of those wins came during his 16 season with the Red Devils. Having already set the Crestwood program record with the most coaching victories, Hannan will have a chance to eclipse the 100-victory mark this season with the Rovers. Hannan’s first game back as a head football coach in Portage County will be a home game against the Red Devils on Aug. 23.
Although the longtime coach has become a permanent fixture in Portage County football, his journey started on the west side of Ohio, when he was a three-sport varsity athlete while attending Brookside High School.
According to Hannan, he knew he wanted to be a head football coach when he was only 18-years old.
“I knew that I wanted to be a football coach and a lot of that was just because of the role models that I had when I was growing up,” he said. “I always looked up to my coaches and I once I could not play the game anymore, I wanted to be able to give back to the kids like my coaches gave to me.”
Hannan earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Mount Union and was a four-year letterman. After graduation, he quickly became a head football coach and spent four seasons as Ledgemont High School and seven years at Canton Central Catholic before arriving in Portage County in 1994 to become the new Red Devils’ coach.
Although he and his family were a long way away from home, Hannan quickly planted his roots in Portage County and provided an immediate boost to the Crestwood football program.
In his 16 years at the helm, Hannan led the Red Devils to their first two playoff appearances and two outright Portage County League titles.
“I had probably some of the greatest and most satisfying moments of my coaching career at Crestwood,” he added. “I was blessed there and at that time period, we had some really good assistant coaches and had great players that worked hard and we had a good run there for 16 years.”
During his tenure as Crestwood’s coach, Hannan also played a key role in Red Devils’ athletics, serving as the athletic director for five years. Despite reaching the playoffs twice, the Red Devils could not get out of the first round and failing to record a playoff victory is one of Hannan’s biggest regrets during his time there.
The 2010 campaign was Hannan’s last season as he and the administration agreed to a mutual parting of ways but his coaching career was far from over.
He spent three years as an assistant coach between North Olmsted, Cuyahoga Falls and Marian Loc before he returned to Portage County to become an offensive coordinator for the G-Men for three seasons, including coaching on the 2016 squad that reached the regional championship.
Hannan became a head coach again in 2017 when he went to coach at Lakewood but only stayed for one season before he returned to Portage County and joined the Windham staff during the 2018 season. He then joined Kent Roosevelt’s program as the head junior varsity and freshmen coach from 2019-2022 before he moved to Rootstown last season.
After 16 years as Crestwood’s football coach, Hannan made some lasting relationships that enabled him to keep coaching no matter the school but has always stayed close to Portage County.
“I bounced around a lot because I had to have a job wherever I had the connections and the relationships,” he noted. “I came over to Rootstown last year and I already knew the kids and had already been a head coach for 27 years.”
