New Hampshire Football Report

Memorial’s Bailey resigns

Manchester Memorial’s search for a varsity football coach is not over.

David Bailey received school board approval on March 13 to become the school’s head coach, but resigned Friday.

“It’s a health issue and he’s not going to take the job,” Memorial athletic director Ray Connolly said. “He’s going to focus on him. I’m not sure I can say much more than that.”

Bailey, a teacher at Memorial, met with the Memorial players Friday afternoon. He added that he won’t coach in any capacity this season.

“It’s disappointing after getting an opportunity like this, but it’s something I have to take care of,” Bailey said. “I’ll still be able to teach at the school.”

Bailey, who played college football at the University of New Hampshire, would have replaced Peter Colcord, who resigned following the 2017 season. Colcord spent 10 seasons as Memorial’s head coach.

Bailey spent the last two years as an assistant coach at Bedford High School. His coaching resume also includes five years as an assistant coach at Manchester Central. Prior to that he was the junior varsity coach at Memorial.

Memorial will enter the 2018 with a 27-game losing streak. The Crusaders finished 0-9 in each of the last three seasons and haven’t qualified for the Division I playoffs since 2003.

The 2014 season was Colcord’s best. The Crusaders finished 6-4 that year following a 41-14 victory over Central on Thanksgiving. It’s the only time Memorial has won on Thanksgiving since the current format for determining the city champion was adopted in 1981.

Connolly said the position will be posted again, and that the program will likely need assistant coaches and a junior varsity coach as well.

“On Monday I heard he might be looking to step down,” Connolly said. “We’ve been going back and forth. We all support that (Bailey’s decision). We all support Dave Bailey.”

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