SENECA – The storied Seneca boys basketball program has had only two head coaches stretching back into the early 1980s.

Soon, there will be a third.

Russ Witte, who took over the Fighting Irish program in 2009 and led Seneca to a 284-188 record and three Class 2A regional championships over 16 seasons, announced to his players Wednesday he will be retiring as a basketball coach at the school. He does plan to stay on as a teacher.

While he would not rule out a possible return to coaching the game he loves somewhere down the line, Witte for now intends to spend more time with his family.

“If I feel the bug come back, yeah, it’s very much so a possibility,” Witte said. “If I don’t feel the bug and 27 years was plenty and it’s ‘I’m signing off,’ I’ll be happy as a clam watching my kids grow up to young adults.”

Seneca on Thursday began advertising the coaching vacancy.

A full story on Witte’s retirement from coaching will appear online Monday at shawlocal.com/illinois-valley and in print in our Tuesday edition.