Red Bank Catholic didn't take long to fill its football head coaching vacancy, and to find its new gridiron boss the Caseys turned back to one of their favorite sons.

Red Bank Catholic has hired former head coach Frank Edgerly as its new head football coach, the school announced Thursday afternoon. Edgerly will return to the sidelines at Count Basie Field after seven seasons in the National Football League.

"Frank is an RBC guy and this has always been home for him whether he's been around or not," said Red Bank Catholic athletic director Joe Montano. "He's been away for a few years and gotten a great education from some of the best people in the sport at the college level and pro level. It's a great opportunity for him to bring his family back home to New Jersey and be in a position he really cares about."

It was just a week ago that Jim Portela announced he was resigning after seven seasons. A football program of Red Bank Catholic's caliber having a head coaching vacancy this close to the summer could have been disastrous, but Edgerly being available made it a seamless transition.

"You have to be a little bit lucky and sometimes things work out in a certain way," Montano said. "Our main goal - we've had three football coaches in 40 years. There's a way we do business and things we believe in, and we need a certain type of person for the job."

Edgerly was previously the Caseys head coach from 1999 through 2008, compiling a 54-43 record and winning three Shore Conference division titles in the now defunct Liberty Division. He helped set the foundation for the program the Caseys have become, going 31-9 with three division championships from 2005 through 2008.

"Frank built the foundation and Jimmy brought it to a new level," Montano said. "In fairness to the kids we wanted to give them an opportunity to continue to be just as successful."

Edgerly left RBC after the 2008 season and was named Director of Recruiting Operations at Rutgers University under former head coach Greg Schiano. He then took a job as a scout with the New England Patriots where he stayed from 2009 to April of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns from May 2013 to this year when he was let go as a new regime came in under Hue Jackson. Edgerly was most recently a consultant for Vanderbilt University.

Edgerly is a 1990 graduate of Red Bank Catholic where as a senior in 1989 he quarterbacked the Caseys to their first division title. He went on to play at Rutgers and graduated in 1994.

 

Football editor Bob Badders can be reached at badders@allshoremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights. 

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