MacCrindle in, Stanger out at Crystal Lake Central

As a Crystal Lake Central senior more than 20 years ago, Matt MacCrindle knew he wanted to run a high school football program someday.

He would watch his brother, Clayton, who was then a freshman for the Tigers, play football.

“I remember just standing on the sideline, being like, ‘This is my goal someday. This is what I want to do. This is where my heart is. This is where my passion is,’ ” MacCrindle said. “I just want to pass along the same things that my coaches instilled in me.”

MacCrindle has been doing that at his high school alma mater as a coach and a math teacher for about 18 years, ever since the former defensive lineman graduated from St. Ambrose University in Iowa, after playing two seasons on scholarship at Quincy.

Now, he’s seeing his dream come to fruition like never before.

MacCrindle, a 2003 graduate of Central, where he was a three-sport athlete, was officially named the Tigers' new head football coach last week. He replaces Dirk Stanger, another former player with local roots, who coached the team the past three seasons.

“When I met with the kids [Tuesday], I said my Tiger blood runs deep,” MacCrindle said. “I’m a product of the school and everything that it’s about and the culture that we are, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

MacCrindle’s hiring came at the unexpected departure of Stanger, who said he was pulled into a meeting recently with Principal Carson Sterchi, who informed him that a change was being made. Stanger does not work in the school district, which made his coaching position vulnerable.

“Due to our collective bargaining agreement and past practice as a district [District 155], bargaining unit members are able to ‘bump’ nonbargaining unit members if they apply within three weeks after the conclusion of the season,” Sterchi said. “Upon receipt of coach MacCrindle’s application, we conducted an interview with him and followed our process for approval of him as the new head football coach.”

Stanger works full-time for the athletic recruiting company Next College Student Athlete. He said he was shocked when told he was being replaced as head football coach. He was Central’s offensive coordinator for seven seasons before taking over the program in 2022. The Tigers went 10-18 in his three seasons as head coach, making the Class 6A playoffs in 2023.

He said he was told by Central’s administration that the decision to replace him as head coach had nothing to do with his coaching.

“It definitely was a range of emotions,” said Stanger, a 1993 Marian Central graduate who played quarterback in high school and in college at Wisconsin. His coaching background also includes a 12-year run as Ed Brucker’s offensive coordinator at Marian Central.

MacCrindle said he had a conversation with Stanger and prefers to keep it private. Central’s new head coach said he wants to focus on his football players and the program.

In his time at Central, both as a player and coach, MacCrindle, who turns 40 this summer, has been through ups and downs.

“When I talked to the kids, I talked about how when I was playing football at Crystal Lake Central, we were not the most successful program,” MacCrindle said. “We won three games in my four years of high school. We went through some rough times. But I also told them I’ve also been a part of this program through our highest points.”

“When I met with the kids [Tuesday], I said my Tiger blood runs deep. I’m a product of the school and everything that it’s about and the culture that we are, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

—  Matt MacCrindle, new Crystal Lake Central head football coach

Central has made the state playoffs 11 times since 2008. MacCrindle served as offensive line coach and special teams coordinator under Stanger and Jon McLaughlin. MacCrindle also has served as head coach for the freshman and sophomore teams, and has run offenses and defenses at the JV level. He also served as the track and field team’s throws coach for 17 years.

Football, teaching and his young family keep him busy.

He and his wife of 15 years, Amy, are the proud parents of Cooper, 13, Hudson, 9, and twins Emerson and Everly, 5. Amy is the assistant superintendent of curriculum in Huntley District 158.

“She’s an amazing woman, she’s my rock, and she’s my support system,” MacCrindle said. “We are a team. Going into this, she’s been behind me all the way. She knows that this has always been a dream for me.”

MacCrindle is in the process of putting together his football staff. Schematic changes, if any, will be determined later, but what won’t change is the Tigers' emphasis on physicality.

“We’re definitely going to be a flavor of what we’ve been in the past in terms of being a physical football team, both offensively and defensively,” MacCrindle said. “You might see us running the ball a little bit more than we have in the past, but I’m a proponent of making sure that we’re highlighting what our athletes can do within our scheme.”

Stanger called Central “a great place to coach” and is proud of what the Tigers accomplished on the field. In his last season as offensive coordinator in 2021, the team went to the quarterfinals for only the second time in school history. Stanger’s son, Myles, was a wide receiver/punter on the team.

Stanger is not sure if coaching again is in his future.

“It’s definitely a time to do some soul searching,” he said. “I’m a guy who believes God’s got a plan, so we’ll see what that is.”