Weiss lands Westbrook football job Ex-Rockland coach hopes to rebuild Blazes

Daryle Weiss helped the Rockland District High School football program grow from one whose future was in doubt to a team that has produced winning records in each of the last three years.

Now he’ll tackle another struggling program, this time at the Class A level.

Weiss, who recently opted not to return as Rockland’s head coach after six seasons, was named Wednesday night as the new varsity football coach at Westbrook High School.

“It’s a great opportunity to coach Western Maine Class A football,” said Weiss. “I’m excited about it.”

Weiss was one of 11 applicants to replace Jason McLeod, who left the Westbrook post after two seasons.

“We had a really strong pool of applicants,” said Westbrook athletic administrator Todd Sampson. “We had some other head coaches from other programs, and some Class A top assistants. But when Daryle walked out of his interview, the two student-athletes on the committee basically said it was a no-brainer.”

Weiss cited professional reasons for his decision to step down as football coach and athletics/activities director in Rockland – he will leave the latter job at the end of the current school year.

Weiss, who utilized a spread offense at Rockland, had an overall record of 24-30 during his tenure as the Tigers’ head coach, including a 5-4 record in each of the last three seasons in the LTC Class C ranks. Those marked the first three winning seasons for the program since the late 1980s.

In addition, the New Jersey native was instrumental in developing a youth football program in the city as well as building participation at the high school level. In his second year at Rockland, the Tigers had as few as 19 players on the roster. Last year Rockland suited up 51 players.

“I’ve been on the football committee of the MPA [Maine Principals’ Association] for six years, so I know that the Rockland program was on the verge of extinction when he got there,” said Sampson. “Now to have more than 50 kids playing for him last year and to have consecutive winning seasons says a lot about what he’s been able to do.”

McLeod was the offensive coordinator at Westbrook until taking the head coaching post in 2005 when the late Mike Landry became ill. McLeod guided the Blue Blazes to a 3-13 record during his two years as head coach, including 2-6 last fall.

“We’ve got great facilities and kids who work hard, but we just haven’t had that consistency at the top with the head coach,” Sampson said.

Weiss steps into a Westbrook program that has had low player numbers by Class A standards in recent years.

“When I go to a place, I don’t look at what’s happened in the past,” he said, “but what we’re going to do for the program in the future.”

Weiss, who also has applied for a teaching position, plans to visit Westbrook next week to better familiarize himself with the players and others involved in the program.

“The first things to do are to assemble a staff and get to know the kids and the community from the youth program up to the high school,” he said.

No one has been named yet to succeed Weiss at Rockland.