After 24 seasons as a head football coach, including the last 13 years at Garrett, Chris DePew has called it a career.
DePew informed his team over the weekend that the 2024 season that saw the Railroaders win 13 games and capture NECC division, sectional and regional championships was his last on the sideline.
Outside the Huddle caught up with DePew, who will remain athletics director at Garrett.
“I have been pretty sure for a couple years,” said DePew when asked why now was the right time to step down. “I had this season circled as my last. Honestly, I had a resignation letter written two years ago when I considered, but it just didn’t feel right, so I couldn’t go through with it.
“I can’t pinpoint a single reason as to why not. My health is good. I still love the game and the people I work with. My family is pretty used to this pace and schedule after all these years, so I can’t say I am retiring to spend more time with them. There isn’t another opportunity I am running toward at the moment either. I just feel like I’ve run my race. I love the guys I have coached, and the hardest part (probably for any coach retiring) is leaving behind guys who I still feel so strongly about.”
DePew was named head coach at East Noble in 2001 and spent 11 seasons in Kendallville. In 2003, he led the Knights to a 14-0 start and a trip to the Class 4A state championship game, where they fell 17-0 to Roncalli.
In 2012, after just a single losing season in a decade-plus at East Noble, DePew headed to Garrett, where he has been ever since. Highlights with the Railroaders have included the 2016 campaign when the team went 12-2 and advanced to semistate, as well as this past season.
DePew backs away with an 80-64 career record at Garrett and a 157-106 mark overall.
“I was pretty sure (that 2024) was my last season no matter what, but our successes this year probably made it easier,” DePew said. “We had a few less-than-average years here lately, so I would be lying if I said that winning this year didn’t help add a better sense of fulfillment. Finishing in Indy would have been a pretty cool ending to that story, but we just fell short.
“However, I have always tried for our program to be about more than just football. We coaches are, unfortunately, judged mostly by wins and losses. There are a lot of great people I know who coach, but because their resumes aren’t loaded with championships, they aren’t recognized for the real impact they make. This is high school, for God’s sake. We coach character, discipline, education and how to love something and devote yourself to it. All are more important that what people pay to watch.”
DePew won’t be venturing far away from the gridiron, as he will remain in charge of athletics at Garrett. For him, the memories he will savor aren’t necessarily the big wins or the trophies, but ones based on relationships and impact on his and others’ lives.
“Almost every memory involves a laugh or tears along with some really awesome people,” said DePew when asked about what he will cherish the most from close to a quarter of a century as a head coach. “Coaching, and teaching, are careers where the rewards often are distant in time from the work itself. We have won a few trophies, but rarely is a true sense of accomplishment immediate, so it’s easy to lose heart.
“Critics don’t make it easier either, but it’s important to remember that they are usually morons who have no idea what you really do. Be patient. Stick with your plan. Believe in what you are doing. The real payoff is in the memories you take and the hope that you’ve done some good in your corner of the world. Those things take time. They are most important. And they are enough.”
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