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Northview's head coach Doug Downing advises his team during a high school football game on Oct. 8, 2021. Downing stepped down on Thursday after eight seasons at the helm.
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Northview football coach Doug Downing steps down

THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN

Northview football coach Doug Downing steps down

Northview football coach Doug Downing, who led the Wildcats to two playoff appearances in eight years at the helm of the program, has stepped down.

Downing, a former longtime college assistant coach, took over the Northview program in 2014. His teams compiled a 39-40 overall record. The Wildcats captured the first playoff win in school history under Downing in 2020.

Northview made two of the program's three total playoff appearances during his tenure.

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Downing said the most rewarding part of the position was cultivating relationships with the high school athletes.

“I loved taking a kid from his freshman year to his senior year and to see them grow as a person and as a human both on and off the field,” he said. “I loved giving them the tools to be successful in life.”

Downing's first team went 3-7 in 2014, and then the Wildcats posted back-to-back 5-5 seasons before breaking through in 2017.

The 2017 Northview team went 8-2, including 5-2 in the Northern Lakes League, and made the playoffs. The Wildcats lost in the first round to Wadsworth.

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In the coronavirus-impacted 2020 season, Northview went 4-5. The Wildcats won the first playoff game in school history, a 29-10 victory over NLL foe Springfield before losing to Central Catholic in the second round.

Downing, 56, said he thought about stepping down over the holiday break because he did not want to make a rash decision.

“I talked with my sons and my wife and it's just time. I've been doing this for a long time,” Downing said. “It's just time to relax. It's time to enjoy the fall and do some things I want to do.”

Northview athletic director Chris Irwin said Downing provided a huge boost to Wildcats athletics overall.

"For the past eight years, coach Downing has been the absolute role model not only for the football athletes but for every student that has walked the halls at Northview during that time,” Irwin said.

“His positive personality will be missed by the entire Sylvania community. I want to thank Doug for his leadership, mentorship, and friendship.”

Downing said he has received close to 100 text messages and voicemails since the decision was announced on Thursday.

“It's all been so good and positive,” he said. “Most of the responses have been people telling me it's sad to see me go but it's all been nothing but appreciation about how you've changed kids' lives.”

Downing, who works for RFS Behavioral Health, lives his Sylvania with his wife Lisa. Both of his adult sons, Brian and Adam, were assistant coaches for him at one time at Northview.

“Lisa is the ultimate coach's wife. We've raised a family through all of this,” Downing said.

He admitted he had trouble picking his favorite team or moments during his career.

“Each year brings different highlights, but that 2017 team was special. That was a great team at every position,” he said. “There are so many great kids throughout the years that mean so much to me.

“It's not always about the wins and losses. It's always been about the relationship with the kids. You hope to make them better people and to be successful in life.”

He said he always emphasized the importance of academics, and a top priority was beating crosstown rival Southview. Downing’s Northview teams had a 6-2 record against the Cougars.

“I believe the program is better now than when it was when I got here,” he said.

Downing was a quarterback at Purdue University from 1984-87. As a senior in 1987, Downing completed 102 of 200 passes for 1,065 yards and six touchdowns.

Downing embarked on his first high school job after spending 24 years as a college assistant coach, including five years at Eastern Michigan following time at the University of Toledo.

Downing inherited a struggling Northview program that had an 8-22 overall record over the previous three seasons. The Wildcats most recently won an NLL championship in 2005 when they split the title with Southview.

This past season, Northview won five of its first seven games and finished the season with a 6-4 mark.

Downing used his college connections to help several of his players earn scholarships to play at the next level. Former Northview offensive lineman Luke Fortner, who played at the University of Kentucky, earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors this season.

“He was one of the first people to text me,” Downing said. “He's going to the NFL Combine. I'm just really proud of him.”

Downing, whose father coached 43 years in Indiana, has spent 24 years as a college assistant coach, including time under head coach Tom Amstutz at Toledo.

“You just grind and go for hundreds and hundreds of hours each year,” Downing said. “You try to have a vision for the program when you take it over.

“I think I changed the culture and increased our winning percentage. But, mostly, I hope I made an impact on the kids, that's the biggest thing.”

First Published January 6, 2022, 10:20 p.m.

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Northview's head coach Doug Downing advises his team during a high school football game on Oct. 8, 2021. Downing stepped down on Thursday after eight seasons at the helm.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
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