Category: <span>Coaches</span>

Former Massillon Coach Bob Seaman Passes Away

Bob Seaman, former head coach of the Massillon Tigers, died on August 13 at the age of 86.  Seaman led the team from 1966 through 1968 and also taught mathematics at WHS.

During his three years at the helm, Seaman compiled a record of 20 wins, 9 losses and one tie, having had the dubious honor of succeeding Coach Earl Bruce.  While both heralded from Sandusky and had good success there, it was Bruce who went 20-0 at Massillon and captured a pair of state titles, whereas Seaman suffered through an initial 4-5-1 mark.  It was the first time the Tigers posted a losing record since 1931, something that didn’t sit too well with the fans. The season started off well enough with a pair of wins, in spite of the Tigers losing their best running back between Games 1 and 2 due to a motorcycle accident.  But a 0-0 tie against Mansfield in Week 3 broke a 30-game winning streak and then a 20-12 loss to Niles two weeks later ended a 32-game unbeaten streak.  In the Niles game, Massillon led 12-0 entering the fourth quarter, only to see the Red Dragons score 20 unanswered points and grab the win.  Recall that it was the Tigers that broke Niles’ 48- game winning streak just two years before.  Three more close losses followed and the Tigers were now 3-4-1 with the state’s No. 1 team Steubenville coming to town.  It seemed like it couldn’t get any worse.

The game started an hour and a half late due to a blown transformer, but that didn’t keep the Tigers from engineering one of their biggest upsets in history.  Not only did they beat the Big Red 12-0, they also held them to just 39 yards of offense, 11 on the ground and 28 in the air.  Two long Massillon drives that culminated in touchdowns by halfback back Tom James and quarterback Craig Maurer were all that was needed.  Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn’t repeat the feat the following week against an under-performing McKinley eleven, and the losing record was assured.

Seaman semi-redeemed himself the following year by going 9-1 and finishing as A.P. state runner-up.  Only a 7-6 loss to eventual state champ Upper Arlington kept Massillon from the top spot.  Nevertheless, a 7-3 finish the following year, including a 26-6 loss to McKinley, the 2nd in three years, was enough for the fans to cry and the Massillon Board to eventually seek a new coach.  That coach turned out to be the very successful Bob Commings.

After Massillon, Seaman landed in Wichita State as an assistant, but an unfortunate event the following year thrust him into the head role.  Two planes left for a game against Utah State, but the one carrying the first team failed to make it safely, with 37 players, coaches and support staff lost.  Seaman was promoted to head coach and he remained there for four years, earning a winning season only during the last one.  But it wasn’t good enough, so he was out once again.  After some collegiate assistant roles he eventually landed at Worthington High School, where he was the head coach for the final nine years of his career.

Later, Seaman was inducted into the Halls of Fame for both Sandusky High School and the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.  He was also a two-time head coach of the Ohio North-South All-Star Game, once for the North and once for the South.  The final honor was recognition by Worthington High School for his contributions to the football program.

Bob is survived by his wife, Jean, three daughters and a number of grandchildren an great grandchildren.  He was also a veteran of the U.S.Army.

 

Massillon finds new QB coach in Troxler

Chris Easterling
Chris.Easterling@IndeOnline.com
Updated: Wednesday, March 22, 2017

New Massillon assistant coach Jarrett Troxler has spent the last decade coaching in Georgia. (Augusta Chronicle photo)<br /><div id=”dfp-300×250″ style=”float:right;”><script type=”text/javascript”>googletag.display(“dfp-300×250”);</script></div>
New Massillon assistant coach Jarrett Troxler has spent the last decade coaching in Georgia. (Augusta Chronicle photo)

MASSILLON
The Massillon Board of Education during its Wednesday meeting hired Jarrett Troxler as a health and physical education teacher. Troxler is also expected to eventually receive a supplemental contract as well as the Tigers’ new quarterbacks coach.
Troxler will replace the departing Brett Cooper, who is taking a head-coaching job in Indiana, coming to Massillon after a successful two-year stint as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Thomson High School in eastern Georgia. During those two years, the Bulldogs went a combined 25-3 with a Class-AAAA state runner-up finish in 2016 and a state quarterfinal appearance in 2015.
Troxler’s offense was explosive in both of those seasons. In 2015, Thomson averaged 42 points and more than 5,500 yards in 13 games, then increased both to 43 points and more than 6,500 yards over 2016’s 15-game season.
Jon Mazur, who has been the Tigers’ offensive line coach the last two seasons, is adding the offensive-coordinator’s title to his job responsibilities this fall. However, Troxler’s philosophy meshes well with Mazur, as he has spoken or is scheduled to speak at multiple clinics this offseason on utilizing the power-run game out of the shotgun/spread.
Troxler’s coaching career also includes a pair of head-coaching stops in Georgia: Lakeside High School in 2010-13 and Greenbrier in 2014. He was a combined 23-30 in those tenures.
His assistant-coaching resume also features a stint as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at Lakeside from 2007-09 and a stretch as defensive backs coach at Anson High School in North Carolina from 2002-06.
Troxler graduated from Chowan University in North Carolina in 2002. He added a masters in education from Grand Canyon University in 2010.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE