MILAN – Cord Trott is a football coach.
But he hasn’t only been seen on the gridiron.
He’s been popping up everywhere since being named as the head coach at Milan in January.
“I was just laughing with my wife,” he said. “Date night has become every sport at Milan. We’ve been to basketball, baseball, track, wrestling – everything.”
Trott, a 2009 Saline graduate who spent 15 years as an assistant at Tecumseh, Dundee, Sylvania Northview and his alma mater, was determined to become a fixture at the school.
“Being new, I wanted to build a new energy for football,” he said. “I wanted to talk to kids who notoriously were not playing sports.
“It was part of the challenge. I wanted to put in the time to get to know kids in other sports. I would sit down and talk to them at lunch.”
One Milan sport Trott has never seen is football.
“I’ve never been to a Milan football game,” he said. “I had to get out there in the spring and see the field. It will be exciting to walk out there for the first time for a game.”
Trott’s tactics seem to be working.
The Big Reds had just 27 athletes on the football team at the end of last season. There were about 50 signed up when practices for the 2026 campaign began on Monday, Aug. 10.
Trott, who owns a landscaping company in Milan, has lived in the community since 2017.
“I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to coach in a lot of places,” he said. “I’ve been all-in wherever I’ve been.”
Milan’s players seem to be all in on Trott.
“I feel like we’re looking a lot better,” said wide receiver-defensive back Quentin Allen. “A lot of guys are excited. It’s like flame.”
“Practices have been faster,” added running back-linebacker Logan Vaughn. “We’re doing things quicker.”
Allen, Vaughn and the other seniors can take some of the credit for Milan’s bigger roster this fall.
“We’ve attracted a lot more guys,” said fellow senior Cam Dessellier. “The senior class really went out and talked to a lot of people.”
“We recruited some new guys,” added Allen.
Vaughn noted that Trott’s enthusiasm was contagious.
“I play basketball and he was there all the time,” Vaughn said. “He was there for everything we do.”
Dessellier led Milan in both rushing (453) and passing (1,041) yards in 2025.
“Desi is a heck of a quarterback,” Trott said. “He will bridge the gap a little bit as the guys try to learn a new offense. … He will make some of the gray areas a little more black and white.”
Trott listed Vaughn, Allen, JJ Woods and Wyatt Hurd as some of the top weapons at Dessellier’s disposal.
Hurd is an example of Trott’s recruiting efforts. He is the starting goalkeeper for Milan’s soccer team.
The coaching staff Trott has constructed will be familiar to Dundee fans.
Former Viking head coach Steve Ayre will be the defensive coordinator and former Dundee quarterback Ryan Zanger is the receivers coach.
Trott and Ayre will reverse roles after Trott served as an assistant at Dundee.
“Steve and I are best friends,” Trott said. “We work well together. We have an excellent staff. … We are a little ahead of where I thought we would be now.”
Trott is excited to be part of the Huron League.
“It’s a great league,” he said. “I am very proud to coach in this league. It has a great tradition.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: New coach builds excitement, numbers at Milan | Training Camp Report
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Niles Kruger, The Monroe News | USA TODAY Network
