Football: Danbury tabs Tieri as new head coach

DANBURY — Potential is the worst thrown out the most when describing the football program at Danbury High School.

The largest school in the state with endless standout athletes claiming championships in other sports makes the head coaching job attractive, even if recent success has been few and far between.

Enter 36-year-old Augustine Tieri, who will be the next man to try to extract the potential out of the school and compete in the brutally tough FCIAC.

“If you look around the building, especially this year, the success of all the sports programs in this building,” Tieri said. “The major building blocks for success in a football program are in place here; you have administration that cares about football and supportive about football.”

Tieri replaces Alex Trasacco, who went 4-25 in three seasons with the program; Tieri went a combined 10-12 in two seasons as head coach at Kennedy High School in The Bronx, including guiding them to the playoffs in 2016. He spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at the school.

Thirty-five prospects applied for the job, Athletic Director Chip Salvestrini said, who added that he checked all the boxes. Tieri — who lives in Brookfield — is a teacher at Kennedy but will likely transition into that role at Danbury.

“We have 3,200-3,500 people in the building and we’re growing,” Salvestrini said. “We need a coach in the building who is actively recruiting the kids every single day; talking to the kids, working with the kids and dealing with training issues. Having a coach as active as (Tieri) is going to keep the kids moving in a positive direction.”

The Hatters have one winning season since 2004, which came in 2014 during Mark Ecke’s one season with the team. With spring practice around the corner, Tieri and the Hatters hope to get off on the right foot.

“You can tell there’s excitement in the air in terms of getting started with the football activities,” Tieri said. “The coaches that have remained here have done a good job of keeping things like the weight room going; they’re chomping at the bit, they’re excited about having a new coach that’s ready to take them in the right direction and be successful.”