A week that started with plenty of change in the Bishop McNamara football program will also end with plenty of change.
After demolition of the old and construction of the new Rich Zinanni Stadium began Monday, the school continued writing its new chapter Friday when they announced Greg Youngblood as the school’s next football coach.
“I am very excited to be a part of the Bishop McNamara family and serve as the next head football coach,” Youngblood said in a press release. “We want to honor the great tradition that has been built here and build a culture of excellence that will make our community proud.”
Youngblood, a 52-year-old Bourbonnais resident who served as a defensive assistant for the Fightin’ Irish last season, will inherit a McNamara program that went 4-5 under former head coach Bob Kelly in each of the past two seasons. Kelly resigned last month from his jobs as head football coach and dean of students.
A committee was formed at the school, made up of alumni, former coaches and other parts of the Bishop McNamara family to conduct initial interviews and give input.
Bishop McNamara principal Kaelyn Bess said that Youngblood’s dedication to faith, family and football were what stood out.
“The first thing that stands out when you say Greg Youngblood’s name is his faith,” Bess said. “He is a strong man of God that has high expectations to create young men that are people of God and also tough, strong football players. He puts character first and through that dedication to character development, he’ll be able to create the buy-in that he needs to develop incredible football players as well.”
Prior to last season’s stint as an Irish assistant, Youngblood came to Olivet Nazarene University as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2016. His coaching experience dates back to 1994, when he began serving as the defensive coordinator at Salisbury School, a college prep school in Connecticut.
He moved to the college ranks as the tight ends coach at his alma mater, Bates College (Maine), in 1996 before spending eight years at three different high schools in New Mexico, his home state.
An Albuquerque native, Youngblood played for legendary coach Kevin Carroll at Albuquerque Academy. Playing at a faith-based small school under a well-respected coach is something that helped Youngblood relate to McNamara, who is now leaning on him as the long-term replacement to its own legendary coach, Rich Zinanni, who retired in 2021.
Zinanni is a five-time state champion coach whose 371 wins over 48 seasons are third in IHSA history. Since his retirement, the Irish went 3-6 under interim coach Shawn Lade before their back-to-back 4-5 seasons, leaving them with their longest playoff drought in school history, a challenge Youngblood is ready to face head-on.
“That’s why I connect with Bishop Mac and what it’s about,” Youngblood said. “Small school football, my coach was my idol, and that’s why I got into coaching. ... I really appreciate the faith-based aspect; it’s a strong academic school built on faith, athletics and academics.”
The same week McNamara began its physical transformation with their new stadium, one that comes with an estimated cost of $1.2-1.5 million, they’re now solidifying the transformation of the program’s staff. And whether it’s the stadium or the staff, Bess is excited to see the combination of proud, longstanding football tradition mix with the future Youngblood will help create.
“It seems like you couldn’t have written it any better with the stadium going down at the beginning of the week, and now at the end of week announcing a new head coach,” Bess said. “We’re excited for the future, excited for new traditions that will be a part of the new stadium with our new coach, but also to be able to integrate old traditions that have withstood many decades here at McNamara.
“I know that Greg is going to be the perfect person to lead that forward for the school,” she continued. “He cares a lot about the tradition and cares a lot about respecting the McNamara community.”