McKeon on retirement: 'Possibly'

North's A.D. said football coach is done after this year

Larry McKeon -- the architect of one of the state's elite football programs -- says he hasn't made up his mind yet. He's nearing retirement at Naperville North, but exactly when the school will transition to its next head coach is an open question.

McKeon's resume already includes two state titles with the Huskies (1992 and 2007). Entering his 27th and perhaps final campaign, McKeon has won 77 percent of his games at North, compiling a 226-67 record.

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Naperville North's Larry McKeon may call it a career after completing what will be his 32nd year at the helm of a high school football program this year. McKeon has won 77 percent of his games at North, including two state championships.

(Sun File)

Career coaching record

At Plainfield High School

Year Record

1978-79 4-5

1979-80 3-6

1980-81 8-1

1981-82 9-2

1982-83 6-3

Total 30-17

At Naperville North

1983-84 4-5

1984-85 5-4

1985-86 6-3

1986-87 7-4

1987-88 10-3

1988-89 11-2

1989-90 11-1

1990-91 8-2

1991-92 9-2

1992-93 *12-2

1993-94 8-2

1994-95 12-2

1995-96 10-2

1996-97 5-4

1997-98 9-3

1998-99 10-3

1999-00 7-3

2000-01 11-2

2001-02 5-5

2002-03 9-2

2003-04 10-1

2004-05 10-1

2005-06 7-3

2006-07 7-4

2007-08 *13-1

2008-09 10-1

Total 226-67

Career 256-84

*Naperville North won the state championship in 1992 and 2007. and finished second in 1994. Countdown to Kickoff

The Sun will spotlight the upcoming local football season in each sports section leading up to opening night on Aug. 28. Coming Wednesday: How will new legislation affect steroid testing at the high school level?

Coming off a 10-1 season, the Huskies begin preseason practice on Wednesday in preparation for the opener on Aug. 28 at Neuqua Valley. Is this the end? It depends on who you ask.

"Possibly," McKeon said Monday. "We're gonna look at it at the end of the season (and) see if this is gonna be the year -- or next year or the year after. (I) haven't made a final decision yet."

McKeon's influence extends from the grassroots level -- where the forward-thinking coach helped Naperville youth football install his double-wing offense -- all the way up to the NFL, a destination point for North graduates such as Chris Brown, Justin McCareins and Glenn Earl.

"This is his last year," North athletic director Doug Smith said Monday, a development that was confirmed by a second source.

McKeon joked: "Sounds like Doug's the one that's trying to get rid of me. We're just gonna wait and we're gonna make a decision at the end of the year."

In the eight seasons before McKeon's arrival in 1983, the Huskies finished with a winning record only twice, according to IHSA records. Since then the program has qualified for the state playoffs 22 times in the past 23 seasons.

To extend that streak, North will rely on quarterback Matt LaCosse, who last season as a 6-foot-5-inch sophomore reserve didn't throw an interception and led the Huskies to two victories by a combined score of 96-32.

Junior linebacker Nick Lifka was the only sophomore among the 97 listed on last year's all-DuPage Valley Conference honor roll. Lifka already received an offer from Eastern Illinois, which according to McKeon is the earliest that has ever happened to a North player.

"We're a real young team. We've got a long way to go. We only bring back five starters off of last year's team," McKeon said. "There's a lot of young guys that are gonna have to play this year (who) probably wouldn't normally be playing. What I mean by that is (our backups) on the offensive line last year were seniors instead of juniors.

"Now we got a group of junior linemen coming up (from) our sophomore team. They're big and they have pretty decent mobility but they have a lot of weaknesses yet.

"They've got to get stronger in the weight room, those types of (things). Somewhere down the line this year I think we can be a pretty good team. But we still have to have a lot of guys step up."

Between Lifka and LaCosse, the Huskies figure to have talent and experience on both sides of the football for 2010. Should McKeon step down, the position will draw major interest because of North's location, tradition and resources.

Smith indicated that the school won't post an official job opening and search for a replacement until the 2009 season is complete: "We'll let him enjoy his last year. We'll worry about that when the season's over."

Given North's enrollment at more than 3,100 students, there's a thought that a football coach at a school of that size needs to be a full-time teacher working in the building every day. On Monday the Huskies athletic director didn't want to test that theory.

"I'm not even gonna comment on that. I'm not even going there," Smith said. "Nice try."