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Jim Womochil resigned as football coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Jim Womochil’s “next endeavor” begins Monday.
“I’ll probably be shoveling snow the next day or two, but come Monday, I’m going to start on my future,” Womochil said Friday, a few hours after he resigned as football coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
Womochil, 45, will take an immediate leave of absence “to pursue other coaching opportunities at the college level,” according to a statement released by Jefferson.
More than one source has said Womochil will be hired on the staff at Iowa State University. He neither confirmed nor denied that.
“I can’t comment on that,” he said. “I’ve got a couple options.”
Womochil posted a 22-78 record in 11 seasons at Jefferson, including a current losing streak of 22 games.
The J-Hawks did not post a winning season in Womochil’s tenure. They won four games in 2001, 2006 and 2008.
The 2008 team advanced to the Class 4A playoffs, losing in the first round.
“A lot of people look at the wins and losses and judge everything on that,” Womochil said. “We worked hard. We gave it everything we had.
“It’s tough to leave. We created a family and built a lot of relationships.”
Jefferson Athletics Director Scott Kibby said he had been in talks with Womochil about the unspecified opportunity since November.
“I knew then that he had another option,” Kibby said. “He told me Monday that he had worked out a leave of absence.”
The leave of absence, Kibby said, means “that Jim is going to explore another opportunity. If it is to his liking, he will continue on. If not, he can come back and a job will be waiting for him at Jefferson in the fall.”
Womochil was a business education teacher at Jefferson.
Kibby said it is possible that Womochil could be on the football staff next season, but not as the head coach. He also said the head position could be posted as soon as Monday on the Cedar Rapids Community Schools’ web site.
“I plan to take applications through the second week of February and start interviewing in March,” Kibby said.
A native of Vinton, Womochil was the seventh head coach in Jefferson’s 52-year history, succeeding Dave Jacobson in 2001.
He led Williamsburg to three playoff appearances before arriving at Jefferson, but was never able to duplicate that kind of success against the Mississippi Valley Conference.
“That’s a mystery to me,” said Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Tony Lombardi.
“I’ve always been pulling for Jim and his program. He’s a good guy who has put in a lot of time. His kids have been physical and hard-nosed. They just haven’t been able to sustain it in a game for four quarters.”
Womochil said that commitment to weight training “has been a battle” at Jefferson.
“The new guy is going to make that a point of emphasis,” he said.
49 Responses to Womochil resigns at Jefferson
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adios! time for jefferson to be respected again. starts off by getting a coach that actually respects his players.
This is such good news for Jefferson. But it needs to be a complete new set of coaches. Start fresh but will Kibby have the courage? I hope he does more than posts a help wanted and goes and recruits the right coach.
ZIP it don’t talk about Womo like that.
They need an offense to fit players skill. Jim never did that well. Yes on what Kenny said. Clean sweep is what needs to be done. The screamer from Metro needs to go. Why parents put up with him on the west side is a mystery.
Kibby needs to go too. Weak AD.
You can say want you want about high school coaches who put in 60-80 hours a week during the season. Just too bad the kids don’t put the time in the weight room. Redistricting in the past hurt Jeff. The future will be just as bad. How many of the Xavier players would have started for Jeff….11 or 12? See more than just coaching…
I agree with John on this. I went to Jeff and there was little support and the kids acted like they dont want to put the time in. Jeff kids are pulled different ways and not dedicated.
No one is more dedicated to football than Womochil. Did a tremendous job rebuilding at Williamsburg. Jeff was a bad move for him-nothing to work with because of redistricting. Played DB at UNI-he will do a good job at ISU.
I agree! Womo turned things around at W’burg! He did a great job and was very dedicated to his team! I wish him the best!
If you think womo was who turned Williamsburg around on his own you are as crazy as he is. He had some great assistant coaches that made him look good
It’s not the kids. Wash has less kids than Jeff. Lombardi builds his teams around what he has been dealt and finds a way to win. Womo blamed the players every year, not his “proven” system. Ask anyone that has sat through a team banquet the last 10 years. Its well known that he has never been able to put the best athletes on the field. He let too many parents push their agenda on the team. A leader inspires people to greatness or finds someone who can.
This is also a very accurate discription of womochil parents pushed him I can think of at least 10 examples from playing from him personally where kids that have never seen the field before where all the sudden starters after they parents got involved. Has no loyalty to players, and will never admit he was wrong. I cannot speak for every class that had the misfortune of playing for him, but I can speak for myself as a former player and players I played with. Very few of us like womochil, steered nearly every player in the wrong direction it is almost like he’s trying to screw you. Just look at his play calling is jaw dropping how stupid it is, guy was asleep at the wheel and is to stupid to even relize it.
This guy is a joke of a coach, did an average job at at Williamsburg first off. Give any coach in the metro area same group of guys as womochil and they would win 50 percent more games. Had the talent failed to develop it. Played for him personally DID NOT DEVELOP PLAYERS! Players begged to get in weight room no coach would open it except Jason Wood this guy is responsible for any development of players at Jeff. Xavior players that did not start at Xavior would have not started at Jeff either, becasue the only reason they where even decent to begin with is because they where developed at Xavior would have been scrubs if not developed. Entire coaching staff/parents/AD filled with excuses as is this comment section you dont get bad talent for 11 years straight. Football teams are developed this is why the same schools end up winning or losing. Womochil should be going down in flames instead people are point fingers every where eles. Very sad that womochil will get the opportunity to ruin players careers with four more years invested in football
it is not all womo fault, need to really look at there commitment from jefferson uppers like athletic director and principal. No commitment there at all, you are right all coaches need to go.
Good he was terrible anyways like really 22-78 WOW also what college would want to hire him. Now maybe Jeff will turn it around and have a winning season i hope.
If Iowa State hires him I am convinced that the program has no class.
Good luck to Jim and The Jefferson J- Hawks
I had two boys go hrew the Jefferson program, both under Jim. My problem was always the excuses for failures. It’s the economics our kids can’t afford football camps or that thing that helps the program. Kids are academically ineligible, or the weight program. I believe that there is another problem the administration supports losing look at jeffs over all program
Steve and Bob.
I have seen and heard it all at Jeff. First as far as developing talent. there are restrictions set by the school and the state into what a coach can and can not do in regards to player contact. Womo followed that. The parent group opens up 7 on 7, the weight room and the gym for kids and it is almost impossible to get 50% participation. My Coach was in contact with the Junior Highs and he even asked parents to work with those kids. He cant because it would have been a violation.
There is a lot of people to blame. Bob and Steve if you love J Hawk Football what have you done to help the program? Did you help in a positive manner or did you complain because your son was not playing? Maybe they should have given more. You should have too. Everyone involved. players, coaches, admin, and parents could have done more.
Jason Wood was kicked of the J hawk staff for a reason. He is no role model.
Redistricting has hurt Jeff too.
Lots of blame here…
You might want to have correct facts before you start to comment. Jason Wood was not kicked off the coaching staff, he left Jeff for better opportunities elsewhere. Second, he has been a great role model to many kids and I comment because I know the facts.
Jason Wood was the best role model at Jefferson, from experience I can attest to that since I am an incoming senior who has played football for the program all 3 years so far. Womo was a screw up pushover, the athletes that missed did not have consequences, the athletes that sat on their rear ends all summer and off season still started, and most of the athletes that busted their asses from day one did not see over 2 minutes of a game. Most of the athletes that should of played in the varsity games, were jv players, and look at what the jv did. They did not lose a game. And it is not the players overall committment to the team, because I can attest to the fact that we only went to the weightroom one time a week in season, and that was during practice which could have been before school. We installed new offenses, new defenses, and new plays every week because he did not know what we should run, and because he had seen others have success with them.
Terrible coach.
I’m glad he is out of here, best for the future of Jefferson, not just myself.
J-Hawk Pride!!!!
Tony Lombardi should not have even been quoted in this article. Lombardi builds his team by contacting players from other schools and asking them to transfer to Washington. He attempted this last year with a 9th grade player and was successful this year by luring an 8th grader to attend Washington. His tactics should be investigated by the IHSAA.
I wouldn’t hold that ego maniac Lombardi up as an example of anything good, Steve. Wash parents are as tired of him as Jeff parents were of Womochil, just for different reasons. As always, a reasonably winning record quiets most criticism, but a look at the sparse numbers of players on the Warrior sideline reveals that it’s not just the parents that have tired of Lombardi’s ego.
I, too, played personally for Womochil. The way he coached, it didnt matter if you were a talented football player. If you werent one of his favorites, or didnt kiss ass, you wouldnt play. He couldn’t handle a player with a little spunk.. isnt that what football is about? He plays favorites, not skill. THAT is why Jefferson has been reduced to a punchline.
Its pretty obvious from an outsiders prospective there is a major problem with the coaching staff. 22 straight losses? Comments like “its a battle to get kids in the weight room make it even more obvious”. Translation: “I fail at motivating my players”
This is very good news for Jefferson. To bad they could not go further and clean more house at Jeff in the Athletic Department. As a Hawkeye Fan, I would think it would be funny if he did end up at ISU. Gives me reason to not like them even more!
To add, I had people in my family play under Jim and the previous coach (Dave Jacobsen). Night and Day difference between the two coaches. Dave is certainly missed.
Bob, I dont know when you played for him but recently the weight room is always open and there is multiple chances to get in there everyday. The players arent as committed as they should be. Womo knows more about football then you will ever and he is always learning more. Thats why he is going to the next level and with commited players I guarantee he will be a good coach. The kids are getting the chance to go get stronger everyday but they arent. Any system wont work if the other team is way faster and stronger. Once the kids get in the weight room then they can turn it around.
Looks like the Jefferson school board will have plenty of applicants for his position, and will have no problem filling it… I am sure that there is someone who has posted a comment for this article that has the skills needed to turn the program around. Its easy to criticize the coaching staff from the stands, but guess what people…. the coaches are NOT playing!! The kids have got to WANT to play! They have to be the ones to put the time in during the off season, They have to be the ones to get their butts in the weight room. They have to be committed as players They also have to be committed students to keep their eligibility to play. Perhaps there was some issues with the coaching staff? What program doesn’t? Look at college and the pro’s? Every good program will have issues at some point. But to put all the blame on a head coach (and then i see a few comments about the assistants too) is crazy! Parents too should be accountable for a successful football program! Motivation and respect starts at home.. If you can’t teach your kids motivation and to work hard for something as SMALL as a football program, then how will they succeed once they get out of the nest?
I look forward to seeing which one of you that have commented in a negative way, will be announced as the next Jefferson football coach so that you can funnel all of your football knowledge and wisdom and of course, your passion for this game… I will make sure and take some time off next year to come see your skills in action at the dome!
Good Luck Jim!
Scott:
You’re right, anyone making comments here could do a better job. It would be impossible to do any worse. 22 losses and nothing but excuses from the coaching staff. It seems they don’t want to take any blame for this failure. Maybe rather then pointing fingers at everyone else they should take a long look in the mirror. Guess who’s job it is to motivate the players? The coach. Guess who’s job it is to make sure his players are staying eligible? The coach. You don’t think every other school has these same issues? Of course they do, but obviously they have a coach that knows how to deal with the problems rather then pointing fingers and blaming everyone else. Also it seems you are implying it’s the parents job to keep the kids motivated. This is true but do you think Jefferson is any different then any other school? That is rather disrespectful to Jefferson parents, making it seem like they are a bunch of unmotivated losers. At this point only thing Womochil can do to save face is come out and admit his failures and apologize for turning the Jefferson program into a joke.
Also a former player of Womochil (1st two years he was there). We went 4-5 in the 2001 football season (Junior year) and 3-6 in 2002 (Senior year). I will state that the reason we were two of his more successful seasons (which is sad enough) was because of the foundation laid by the former coach (Jacobson) and absolutely nothing to do with Womochil. I strongly believe that if Jacobson was still around we would have made the playoffs both years (schemes, preparation, motivation, respect, etc. are the reasons WHY). I could sit here and state all the negativity about Womochil, but that will not solve any problems (his rumors/scandals speak for themselves). He did not have any connection to Jefferson and his players, at least during my time, never respected him. We referred to him as “I Promise” because he always said he would do ______, ________, and _______ and NEVER came through. I wish him well, but he will not be missed.
I still have a tremendous amount of pride in the program, and check every Friday night to see how they fared. Obviously, the past 22 games has been very embarrassing upon checking the box score. Being on a 3A staff for the past 2 years has really opened my eyes as to how a successful program can be run, and I am a constant target for ridicule by my fellow coaches considering my alma mater’s terrible run of late. My hope, and hopefully this is also seen by the administration, is that they appoint a former J-Hawk to the realm of Head Coach. A Chris Buesing or Blake Tiedke would be a hell of a start. We need someone who cares about and understands what exactly it means to be a J-Hawk!! I really hope they make the right decision; it’s been far too long since J-Hawk football has been relevant…
Yes Chris Buesing would be the perfect fit! He excells constantly in the wrestling room, equally lending a hand to each and every wrestler no matter what level they are at and has this great passion along with great skill to pass on to younger generations
*Tiedtke, whoops! Ashton Northern should also be on staff.
I had Northern Coach me. That is the wrong move.
Those that cant coach sit in the stands and complain because their kid is not playing. The same kid that sat around all off season and would not get his butt in the weight room that was open everyday. Just the fact that ISU is looking at Womo speaks volumes to his ability. The Jeff problem is far deeper than coaching.
Like I said in I am only speaking out of my personal experience i dont know about these last few years i wasent in town to see them, Bud you must think im some kind of boy, Im telling you what happened when I went to Jeff. Was Jason Wood let go becasue he had a winning record? He was the one opening the weight room at 5:30 AM in the off season. No other coach was their he keeping records, designed workouts, designed the website. The reason he went the extra mile is becasue he wanted his players to be the best they could be period. After he got pushed out alot of school records where lost alot of which my teammates and myself held. Numbers that can only be achived by four years of consistant lifting, numbers very comprable with other schools. Womochil has been at the school for 11 years not just recently, records have been lost. Records that would have proved he has had talent, there is no argument that he has not had talent for 11 years. Looking through these comments will prove my point parents/boosters/coachs talking about how it was everything but their/coaches/their son’s fault “excuses” and players who didnt have parent support being overlooked. While womochil gets bullied by parents and starts scrubs, making talented players parents that are not involved frustrated, Lombardi does the opposite finds D1 talent develops them and sends them to the next level regardless if it angers parents this is why he is successful. Parents need to step back, and let coaches coach. Sure womochil does know more about football than me, wish he had comunicated more of it to my teammates and myself AKA “coaching” instead of complaining/quiting. Those of you that have been around JHawk football have noticed that as soon as the season takes a turn for the worst more and more players with parent support will be in the game ending many more talented players careers. Scott good point hear ” Motivation and respect starts at home” many parents do this and let coaches coach unfortunatly these young men are often not on the field the ones with parents reaching out are. I am a JHawk fan and I want to see them succed, but most of us can agree this is a welcome change.
P.S looking forward to hearing parents condescending remarks
Two coaches were doing their part to develop players when i was there, coach burrier and coach wood, after burrier left there was a dramatic difference in intensity. The 2 years burrier was there practices and workouts were tough, once he left the place was a joke
I just want to let all u know that my dad may not of had the best record or been the best coach i love him and if u would have lived with him you would of seen how much dedication he put forward so leave ur comments to urself! And its not just football thats struggling at jeff its all of the sports so dont blam it on one man!
Jordan –
I played for your Dad for at Williamsburg for 3 years. The time he put in turning that program around is unquestionable! He was the first one there every morning opening the weight room, he was always the last one to leave. He doesn’t get the respect he deserves from Williamsburg!!
He built a program that is still benefiting from the hard work he put in.
Best of Luck to WOMO.
He had a good staff also
To make this clear for the couple of you who have commented on Jason Wood which this article isn’t even about anyway……he was not kicked off or let go from the J-Hawk Football team. He made the decision to be full time at Wash and to also coach at Wash.
Ok, folks….everyone is entitled to their opinion but you are not entitled to spread negativity and falsehoods on my watch.
I will tell you from personal experience, seeing someone work day in day out. That Jim Womochil is a good man who gave his best at Jefferson. He is a good father, teacher and person. There is plenty of blame to go around at Jefferson that goes well beyond him.
I can also tell you from personal experience that Tony Lombardi is also a good man. Both of these men do more for kids in a week than 95% of the posters on here will do in there lifetime. They aren’t always perfect but I am proud to say I have worked with and for two fantastic men.
I can also say that Scott Kibby is a good man who works his tail off to try and improve Jefferson. He certainly doesn’t deserve to be called anything negative.
As for myself. You can judge me as a role model any way you would like but come see me man to man, face to face if you want to know any details about my life and my ability to role model. I also give my heart and soul to helping kids succeed each and every day as a husband, a father of three, a teacher and a citizen who gives back to the community regularly. The holier than though, judgmental nonsense is one of the key issues that holds any organization back and as you can see from some of the posts above, it is prevalent by a select few who think they understand. And for the record, Jason Wood, me, was not kicked off of any staff, was offered the opportunity to retain my position at Jefferson, but chose to work with one of the best and brightest staffs in the state at Washington and Coach Lombardi. Washington and Jefferson do a lot with a little but do not question the integrity or heart of any of the men and women who fight the good fight every day at those two schools.
I wish the best of luck to Jim and hope that anyone that reads his own son’s reply sticking up for his father (see above) will understand that Jim has been successful before and will be again.
Jason Wood just proved he is a class act…
Opinions are opinions when not based in fact. I know of Coach Wood and he was a loss to Jefferson. My kids also comment he is a great teacher. Jordon Womochil is right, all the sports at Jefferson are struggling and his dad is a good man. I know him personally. Lets knock this message board crap off and get to work.
basically saying that you have no control when it comes to lifting is such bs, i go to west and am a varsity player and we have been lifting 4 times a week since our season ended. And this isnt optional lifting, you either lift 4 times a week or play another sport or you wont play. so basically Jeff will almost certainly go winless again this year and will continue to do so untill their coach steps up and demands something from his players
Some of my thoughts… 5 years ago when I had the choice of what high school I would attend I chose to go to Jefferson. If I had to choose again and I would’ve had the same football experience that I had would I do it again? You bet your ass I would.. The J-Hawk coaching staff has taught me more about being a man than just about anyone..
Now saying that.. Would I have loved to win more than one game as a varsity starter.. YES! However, I think back to those loses now, and do they really matter to me now? No… What matters to me are the men that I can call friends and the lessons that I learned that I will will be able to use for the rest of my life. Losing 13 strait games for me was one of the toughest things that I went through in my high school career… but it taught me how to handle adversity.. I know there wasn’t a person who wanted to turn the program around more than Womo.. It’s obvious that he did with the amount of time that he took away from his family and friends to do something to make us better.. It didn’t happen under him and theres no one that feels worse/mad/frustrated than he does.
Coming from a family that has bled blue for years and having a father that is not scared to share his opinions and that was on some pretty damn good J-Hawk teams, it was very hard not to get down on the program and Womochil sometimes.. I’ll be the first one to admit that.. Were there sometimes where I wanted to quit? Transfer? Not play football anymore? Yes there absolutely were.. However, my teammates were always there on Monday afternoons ready to step back out onto that field no matter what opponent was next.. It was tough on all of us, but every senior on their last game at Kingston for the 11 years under Womochil would be doing the same thing.. Crying that its over, wishing they could put on that J-Hawk jersey again and play a game.. no matter the outcome.
Jordan — You are right about it not just being your dad’s sports team that is/was struggling at Jeff.. When is the last time that we were consistently sending TEAMS (ik softball has been there a lot) to the playoffs or to the state championship? Its been a long time.. too long and your dad would agree 100% with that statement.. And even in him leaving I know that he still wants this to occur.. I know that he will be successful if he does end up at Iowa State, or wherever else he goes. He’s intelligent about the game of football and he is a good man.. just things didn’t shake out how we wanted them to.
As for his last statement about it being hard to get guys in the weight room.. I agree 100% with this statement. I think back to the one question that Coach Wood asked everyone on the Sophomore and Varsity teams.. “Can you look yourself in the mirror and say that you outworked every one of your opponents today?” I would guess that 99% of all of the athletes that went through Jefferson couldn’t answer this question with a honest “yes” answer. So all of the players (including myself) can look back at their own high school career before they bad mouth one coach. Its not one coaches fault that we all didn’t buy in and work as hard as we could.. not to say there weren’t kids that were busting their ass.. we never did it as a TEAM.. Did Coach Burrier’s system work… yeah it did for a while.. But there were things that he did that the HEAD coach didn’t like.. not that I know if he was asked to return or not… not going to speculate .. we still had him my junior year and we were still 1-8… but was the place really all that different when he left? Can players not go to weights, get extra workouts in, and demand the best from their fellow teammates? It shouldn’t take a coach to have to push that hard for kids to get better.. I do know one thing tho.. the weight room was consistently open before/after/during school.. hell sometimes i swear you could walk in at 10P.M. and it would be open. was it being supervised.. No.. and would you get into trouble if you got caught. yes, but the only point is.. it was open
I hope that Jefferson’s football team and other sports programs make a huge turnaround.. I know with the vision that Matt Orton has in the P.E./Weight Room that it is not far around the corner..
If your going to bad mouth the man, be a man and put your name on here or better yet take the time to sit down with Wood or Womochil and see how much time and effort that they put into the J-Hawk program.. I’m sure they would be happy to have that conversation. Better yet, why don’t you apply for the coaching job and show them how to run things and how much better of a coach you are than both of them.. Do the things that they tried to do and turn the program around.. I bet they would be all the happier if you did
I know that this may not change anyone’s views but try to take the time to consider everything before you blame one man.
Coach Womochil was a capable coach who was given capable players. Neither he nor the players should be singled out as the tragic flaw in Jefferson football. The culture of Jefferson football collectively is flawed, as it is one that has grown accustomed to losing and therefore expects it, and is consequently unmotivated to strive for success.
Without slighting Coach Womochil, because I have the upmost respect for him as both a man and my former coach, I feel this is a good move for both parties. I wish him great success in Ames, but also believe it is the proper time for Jefferson to find a new coach to begin a revolution on the west side, beginning with a revived emphasis on intensity, passion, and the will to succeed.
I’m a sophmore at Jeff right now.. He’s gotten the talent but as of late the kids that have been playing football have been flat out lazy not being in the weight room or not going to football activities and the chemistry has also been an issue.. As well but things are gonna come around watch out for us next year. #playoffs
for all you people who are leaving negetive comments on this board just shut your mouth and come out to the games this year we are sick of whats been going on at jefferson high school and if your a true jefferson high school football fan you will come out and support us cause we need all the support we can get womochill was their almost every weekend with the keys to open p the weight room for any body who wanted to get bigger faster stronger so dont even say he didnt put in the time and hardwork i will miss him alot and hope anybody who is reading this to come out for the first game this year and see how improved we are and watch us aug 24th as we get the win over prairie
sophmore trevor hovind #54
Jim womochil was a key person in my life. He was there for me and my family after my dad passed. When he gave the announcement that he was stepping down I couldnt hold back the tears. Im a junior now and I would give anything to have womo as a coach again next year. He taught his players that football is a great sport to play, but that it is also just a filler. His main objective was to make us (his players) great human beings. So until you actually know him, dont bad mouth him while hiding behind a computer