Joliet West stays in-house for new leader, hires Dan Tito as head coach

New Joliet West coach Dan Tito was very specific in what he wanted his first head football coaching job to be.

“Joliet West is all I’ve ever known and Joliet West is all I really want to know,” Tito said. “My goal was not to be a football head coach. My goal was to be a football head coach at Joliet West. It wasn’t like I wanted to use the experience here to go be a head coach at another school, I wanted to be the head coach at Joliet West because I think that this place can be amazing both on the field, in the classroom and in the community.”

Joliet West agreed that Tito was the man for job, approving him to take over the program at its board meeting Tuesday.

Tito arrived at the school in 2011 after graduating from Northern Illinois University and immediately began coaching in the younger ranks of the Joliet West program, eventually becoming head coach of the freshman team. He was later elevated to the varsity staff and served as the team’s defensive coordinator last season under former Tigers head coach Bill Lech.

Lech resigned his post earlier this spring, compiling a 13-21 mark at the school with one playoff appearance in four seasons.

And while the school didn’t immediately land on Tito as the successor to Lech, Tito made his intention clear when he kept the program rolling for whoever the school decided would be the next head coach.

“My goal has always been to make the football program better and make the school better,” Tito said. “I just thought it was a great opportunity for a leadership position where I hopefully can build a program that kids will love coming to.”

That passion is exactly what he hopes to instill in the program.

“I believe Joliet West should be a playoff contender every year, and I think it is going to start first with creating a program that kids love,” Tito said. “And I think the success will take care of itself. I feel like kids aren’t going to put up with things that they don’t like, but they will do whatever they have to for something they love.”

Tito realizes there’s work to be done if the Tigers are going to reach his goals for the program. Joliet West has qualified for the playoffs just four times in the program’s history (and twice more when both Joliet Central and Joliet West competed together as Joliet Township). Independently, Joliet West has never won a playoff game and hasn’t recorded back-to-back winning seasons since 1992.

Still, Tito’s enthusiasm for the post is infectious, and he’s not about to let those unfavorable statistics deter him in his belief that the program can be a special place.

“For me, it always is about making Joliet West as great a place as possible and I think this position is going to greater afford me the opportunity to do so,” he said.

“We have a great staff of guys that I’m fortunate to have them in the program. I definitely feel like this is an opportunity that I’m prepared for and I’m ready for.”