Cincinnati Country Day will be seeking a new athletic director and football coach for the 2026-2027 season.
After seven years as the athletic director and head football coach for the Nighthawks, Dennis Coyle has accepted a position as athletic director of Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. Coyle will end his term at Cincinnati Country Day on June 1.
“Returning to a Catholic school environment is especially meaningful to me,” Coyle said in statement to The Enquirer, “and I am excited to be part of a program that values faith, character, and the development of young people.”
Notre Dame Prep is a private Catholic co-educational high school with just shy of 1,000 students. Among its notable alumni are Major League Baseball pitcher Tayler Scott, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kade “Gottmik” Gottlieb, and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk.
Though the new role was a natural fit for Coyle, he expressed the decision was still a difficult one.
“While I am excited about this new opportunity, it is not easy to leave my current team,” Coyle said. “The bond between a coach and his players is special, and I am deeply thankful for the relationships built with the young men and women I have had the privilege to coach.”
Coyle won five consecutive Miami Valley Conference Gray Division championships from 2021 to 2025, going 22-0 in conference play during that stretch. The Enquirer’s Division VII coach of the year in 2022 and 2025 led the Nighthawks to five straight playoff appearances.
Cincinnati Country Day will immediately begin a search for its next athletic director and head coach, per a release from the school.
Coyle thanked the Cincinnati Country Day community for the years he spent leading the program.
“I will always appreciate the commitment, hard work, and memories created with our student-athletes, coaches, and families,” Coyle said. “I wish them nothing but continued success, and I look forward to beginning this next chapter at Notre Dame Prep.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Country Day AD and football coach Dennis Coyle steps down
Reporting by Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
