FREDERICKSBURG, VA — James Monroe High School Head Football Coach Richard Serbay will not be returning in the fall for a 36th year to a team that has won four Group AA, Division 3 state championships with him as its leader. The high school announced Serbay’s release Thursday, a decision that is proving controversial in Fredericksburg.
Principal Timothy Duffy and Assistant Principal Jay Snyder met with Serbay, 69, Wednesday to let him know he was being relieved of his duties as head coach. A former James Monroe player under Serbay, George Coghill, has been named interim head coach.
Serbay’s supporters are hoping the high school and the Fredericksburg City School Board change their minds and bring Serbay back as head coach for at least one more year. Many contend the decision to oust Serbay does not represent the will of the people in Fredericksburg, including students who have played for Serbay, parents and city residents.
James Monroe High School, in a Thursday news release, thanked Serbay for leaving a legacy that will have „far reaching effects and will last forever.“
James Monroe High School would like to recognize Coach Richard Serbay’s legacy of achievements, accomplishments and contributions as it will continue to serve as the football program’s foundation,„the high school said Thursday in a statement.
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Neither the high school nor the school board publicly offered any reasons why Serbay was let go as football coach.
Serbay has said he wanted one more year so he could have a farewell tour and thank his coaching counterparts, fans and the high school’s support staff. He also had served as the school’s athletic director for 20 years earlier in his career at the school.
The bottom line is I just thought deep in my heart they had enough class to talk to me and let me retire or let me leave on my own terms. I don’t think one more year would’ve hurt anybody,“ Serbay told the Free Lance-Star. „I could’ve had the opportunity to thank the kids that played for me, all the secretaries and custodians. I have no opportunity to thank them for everything they’ve done for me and that crushes me.“
Fredericksburg City School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Boyd said the decision to release Serbay was made at the school level with input from Superintendent Marci Catlett, who was appointed to the position in November. Duffy was promoted to principal of James Monroe earlier this month. The Fredericksburg School Board reportedly unanimously supported the school’s decision to fire Serbay.
„We are indebted to Coach Richard Serbay for his enormous contributions to our students, their families, and the entire greater Fredericksburg community,“ Duffy said Thursday in a statement. „His legacy of excellence, mentorship, and caring cannot be overstated.“
Serbay was hired by Fredericksburg City Schools as a physical education teacher at James Monroe in 1982. A few years later, he took over as head football coach. Serbay retired from James Monroe as a physical education teacher in 2015 but continued on as head football coach under a separate contract.
Ed Williams, whose son played football under Serbay at James Monroe and will be graduating in June, created an online petition Thursday with the goal of getting Serbay reinstated. As of Friday morning, the petition had more than 500 signatures.
„I feel strongly that this decision does not represent the will of the people of Fredericksburg,“ Williams said in an email to Patch. „I’d like to let the school board know how the people they represent feel.“
Williams said he has spoken to many people in Fredericksburg who agree with him. „First, we think that if the school board wanted to ‚go in a different direction,‘ they should have, out of respect for his years of service and in consideration of the high regard in which he is held by the community, asked him to make this his final year and offer to make it a fond farewell where he passes the baton off to his assistant coaches and asks the community to support them,“ Williams said. „Since that didn’t happen, they should simply admit that they handled it poorly [and] humbly ask him to give them one final year and let the man go out with the dignity, respect and recognition that he has earned and so richly deserves.“
As James Monroe football coach, Serbay won more than 250 games. The Yellow Jackets were Group AA, Division 3 state champions in 1986, 1987, 1996 and 2008. Serbay was a 2014 inductee into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame and a 2012 member of the James Monroe High School Hall of Fame.
„Coach Serbay is the most recognized person in reference to The James Monroe High School,“ John B. Gordon III, the school’s principal at the time, said upon Serbay getting named to the school’s Hall of Fame. „The students love him, the community respects him, and his opponents fear him.“
Serbay has said one of his most memorable seasons was in 2005 when his No. 4 seed underdog Yellow Jackets knocked off the first and second seeds to win regionals. His son played center on that team. In the 2005 region final, James Monroe beat York 54–41 in a wild shootout.
„It was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever coached in,“ Serbay said at the time.
Williams and his wife did everything they could to make sure their son played for Serbay, even when they had trouble finding a place to live in the City of Fredericksburg.
„You don’t entrust your child to just anyone,“ Williams said. The family was willing to live in a Fredericksburg hotel room as they tried to find a permanent residence to ensure their son „had the opportunity to be mentored and molded by Coach Serbay and to be around such a good role model,“ he said.