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Pike leaving Salem

Rob Pike said it would take an exceptional opportunity for him to leave the Salem High School football program, and he has apparently found that opportunity.

Pike, 39, has resigned as Salem’s varsity football coach to become the varsity head coach at Lowell (Mass.) High School. He also accepted a teaching position at Lowell. Pike taught history at Haverhill (Mass.) High School while he was coaching at Salem.

The Lowell job is also closer to his home in North Andover, Mass.

“The biggest thing is it’s a chance to be a teacher in the same building that I’m coaching at,” Pike explained. “I just couldn’t go and teach at Salem because of different states and my certification is in Mass., my retirement was in Mass. … all that stuff. So this was an opportunity where I could teach and coach in the same building. When that presented itself I had to take a look at it. It just made sense for me and my family.”

The Blue Devils had a 50-22 record in seven seasons under Pike. The team’s year-by-year Division I record in those seven seasons:

2013: 4-6 (no playoffs)
2014: 7-2 (no playoffs)
2015: 7-3 (lost to Exeter in first round)
2016: 6-4: (lost to Bedford in first round)
2017: 10-1 (lost to Pinkerton in semifinals)
2018: 8-3 (lost to Pinkerton in semifinals)
2019: 8-3 (lost to Londonderry in semifinals).

“We are very excited to have Rob as our new varsity football coach,” Lowell athletic director Dave Lezenski said in a press release. “He will be a tremendous asset to our entire Lowell community. Rob has a great football mind and is an outstanding teacher of the game.”

Pike was an assistant coach at Salem for three seasons before he took over as the program’s head coach.

“The kids in Salem are special,” Pike said. “They work really hard. They’re really tough, coachable kids. I had such a great time and made so many awesome relationships there, and we had a lot of fun. I’m gonna miss it. This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

“I’m gonna miss New Hampshire football. There are some awesome things about it that I’m gonna miss a lot. That saddens me. It’s a tough thing to leave. I leave with a lot of great memories and great relationships I made with countless other people.”

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