Amherst hires Falcons’ Passerrello as coach

The Comets did not have to look far for their next coach.

On Jan. 26, Amherst Athletic Director Casey Wolf announced that the school would hire Mike Passerrello as its new football coach, pending board approval.

Passerrello, who has spent the past six years in charge of the Firelands football program, works in the Amherst Exempted Village School district and has been on Wolf’s radar during his run with the Falcons.

“(Passerrello) stood out from the beginning,” Wolf said. “He had a tremendous run at Firelands. With our districts being neighbors, it was easy to watch and see what was going on over there. He stood out as a guy that fit best for our program.”

Wolf said that Passerrello’s competitive edge set him apart during the hiring process, adding that the hiring committee was focused on coaches with the best track record and not necessarily interviewing many candidates.

“The quality of coaches we interviewed was second to none,” Wolf said.

“One of the things we enjoyed most (about Passerrello)

was that everything (the team would do) is a competition. Whether it’s who can get to the water bottle the fastest, who wins a specific drill, those kinds of things. Competition drives success, and it’s obvious his system for doing those things work with the track record he has.”

Passerrello replaces Bill Fishleigh, who resigned as the Comets’ coach on Jan. 3 after three seasons and a 5-25 record.

Passerrello will inherit an Amherst team on the rise. The Comets went 3-7 this year, but have a young core of returning players — including one of the breakout players of the season in sophomore running back Khennedy Scagliozzo.

In his own right, Passerrello will be bringing a history of success to the Comets’ program that has been down on its luck for the better part of the decade. While leading the Falcons, Passerrello had a 34-28 record, which included the programs first two playoff appearances in 2011 and 2015, as well as a Patriot Athletic Conference title in 2011 — a season where Passerrello was named the AP Northeast Lakes District Division III coach of the year.

Passerrello’s hiring comes hot on the heels of Avon Lake hiring Matt Kostelnik to succeed Dave Dlugosz on Jan. 22 and Elyria hiring Sean Arno to succeed Kevin Fell on Jan. 25 in what has proven to be a very busy offseason for Morning Journal area teams.

Firelands will now begin finding a new head coach.

The Falcons are the ninth Morning Journal area program to begin a search for a new coach this offseason, joining Amherst, Avon Lake, Elyria, Fairview, Keystone, Oberlin, Vermilion and Wellington.

Staff reporter Marissa McNees contributed to this article.