Mukwonago football coach Iverson resigns

After six seasons at the helm, Mukwonago football coach Clay Iverson has resigned.

Mukwonago athletics director Andy Trudell confirmed Iverson’s decision and said the search would begin immediately for a replacement.

“We met with the kids today, let them know, and it was all positive,” Trudell said. “We think we have a great gig here. Clay did some awesome things. He started a morning program here, a summer school program; he was instrumental to help us fund-raise for a new fitness center. He did a lot of great things beyond the coaching piece.”

Iverson took the reins after the 2011 season after posting a 57-19 record over seven seasons at Pewaukee. He helped turn the Pirates program turn into one of the area’s best.

Mukwonago has gone 33-28 under Iverson but fell below .500 in each of the past three seasons, narrowly missing playoff berths in 2015 and ’16 in the rugged Classic 8 Conference before going 3-6 in ’17.

Iverson was named the 2016 recipient of the Positive Influence in Coaching Award by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

Mukwonago, which won one playoff game and made three playoff appearances in the six years before Iverson’s arrival, saw the playoffs three times and won five playoff games under Iverson, reaching Level 4 in 2013. The squad has not been back to the playoffs since 2014.

Iverson, 41, continues to teach business education at Mukwonago, a school that has been undergoing massive building improvements and will feature some of the area’s best facilities upon the project’s completion.

Trudell said he had more than 50 applicants for the coaching vacancy during the last coaching search.

Iverson coached all three Watt brothers at Pewaukee, and all three currently play in the NFL (J.J. with the Houston Texans, Derek with the Los Angeles Chargers and T.J. with the Pittsburgh Steelers). T.J. played his senior year at Pewaukee under current coach Justin Friske.