Pickerington Central's Jay Sharrett Retiring

W

Walt

Active member
Pickerington Central's head coach Jay Sharrett is retiring after 20 years as head coach. Coach Sharrett was an assistant at Pickerington before the schools split and was named head coach at Central when the district split the high schools.

I know he doesn't need me to be his cheerleader but I truly believe he doesn't get enough credit for what he's done. I am biased but I believe Pickerington Central has been one of the best, if not THE best, public school football program in Ohio the past 20 years.

In Coach Sharrett's 20 seasons as head coach, Tiger football has had the following accomplishments:

20 winning seasons
19 playoff appearances (13 times advanced at least to the regional semi-final and 10 times advanced to regional final)
17 Ohio Capital Conference championships
8 Regional Championships (2006, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
5 State Championship Game appearances (2006, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2020)
2 State Championships (2017 and 2019)

Overall record: 211-42 (0.834)
Regular season: 167-25 (0.870)
Playoff record: 44-17 (0.721)

Tigers were 11-0 vs. out-of-state teams.

Tigers never lost to a team with a losing record.

Tiger's record at home: 110-6 (0.948). Only six home losses in 20 years!!! Tigers currently have a 31 home game winning streak (last lost at home week 3 in 2017). We also had a 37 home game winning streak that ran from week 9 of 2005 to week 6 of the 2012 season.

The Tigers averaged playing almost 13 games a season. That's even more impressive when you think about the fact we had a 6 game regular season due to covid in 2020 and Pick Central only had 9 regular season games in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

It has been a great run for Coach Sharrett. Congratulations Coach!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600974566918180872
 
 
I will also say that I believe his coaching staff's best coaching job was the 2012 season. Tigers had no business going 7-3 and making the playoffs. We graduated a ton from the 2011 state runner up team. We had 2-3 really good players transfer out. We had 2 key players get injured in pre-season - one out for the entire year and another missed a big chunk of time. Any other coaching staff in Central Ohio couldn't have got that team to a 5-5 record let alone 7-3.
 
Great job, coach! Ignore the haters and their complaints of boring ball. Jay was all class. Since my buddy Jeff Martello moved to SC, I'm guessing he's not going to apply for this one, LOL.
 
I have only "known" Coach Sharrett through the magic of television here in Northeast Ohio. Everything said about Coach Sharrett in this thread I agree to be true. The one thing that always impressed me is every time the camera caught him on the sidelines, he was wearing a shirt and tie. Dressed for success, and a great example for his kids.

Walt - some of the stats you posted are simply mind blowing in this day and age. What an incredible run against ever increasing sets of challenges. He set a standard for his program and his kids that is the envy of the State of Ohio and beyond.

In conclusion, I think the best compliment I can give Coach Sharrett is that he is a credit to his profession and he leaves his program in excellent shape for the next coach.

Enjoy your retirement, Coach - you have certainly earned it.
 
Walt said:
Pickerington Central's head coach Jay Sharrett is retiring after 20 years as head coach. Coach Sharrett was an assistant at Pickerington before the schools split and was named head coach at Central when the district split the high schools.

I know he doesn't need me to be his cheerleader but I truly believe he doesn't get enough credit for what he's done. I am biased but I believe Pickerington Central has been one of the best, if not THE best, public school football program in Ohio the past 20 years.

In Coach Sharrett's 20 seasons as head coach, Tiger football has had the following accomplishments:

20 winning seasons
19 playoff appearances (13 times advanced at least to the regional semi-final and 10 times advanced to regional final)
17 Ohio Capital Conference championships
8 Regional Championships (2006, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
5 State Championship Game appearances (2006, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2020)
2 State Championships (2017 and 2019)

Overall record: 211-42 (0.834)
Regular season: 167-25 (0.870)
Playoff record: 44-17 (0.721)

Tigers were 11-0 vs. out-of-state teams.

Tigers never lost to a team with a losing record.

Tiger's record at home: 110-6 (0.948). Only six home losses in 20 years!!! Tigers currently have a 31 home game winning streak (last lost at home week 3 in 2017). We also had a 37 home game winning streak that ran from week 9 of 2005 to week 6 of the 2012 season.

The Tigers averaged playing almost 13 games a season. That's even more impressive when you think about the fact we had a 6 game regular season due to covid in 2020 and Pick Central only had 9 regular season games in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

It has been a great run for Coach Sharrett. Congratulations Coach!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600974566918180872
Click to expand...
Absolutely incredible run. His teams were always fun to watch.... good, hard-nosed teams that if they weren't going to beat you on the scoreboard, they'd beat you physically. Classy guy from the one time I met him.
 
Thanks for the detailed post Walt. Not many people outside of Picktown realize Jay's accomplishments.

It is my understanding that he also spent his personal time helping players get opportunities at the next level.
 
I have to say that coach Sharrett built Central exactly like his personality. Tough, no flare, disciplined and always played with class. The program is in great shape thanks to coach Sharrett. I know everyone is saying Central will not be a power anymore because of coach Sharrett’s retirement. Totally disagree! Coach Sharrett has built a powerful culture at Pickerington Central. The current staff has been with the program for a very long time. This is not an overhaul. The program will continue in the same pattern as before. Remember Jack Johnson stepped down 20 years ago and a DC named Jay Sharrett took over a very good Central program. All coach Sharrett did was build a good program into a powerhouse in Ohio. In the words of coach Sharrett, “Next man up!” That’s the PC philosophy.
 
Curious to hear everyone's take on who the successor will be. Pretty high profile job so I'm sure they'll get successful HCs from all over the state.
 
Unless the pipeline of talent suddenly dries up I believe Pickerington Central will be just fine with the next coaching staff. Unlike Hilliard Davidson & Dublin Coffman who have struggled in replacing 20 year tenured head coaches, I believe the talent at Pickerington Central is to great to fail at this time. Over the last 20 years the only public schools in Ohio who have had as many Top 50 Ohio Seniors is Cleveland Grenville and maybe Wayne Huber Heights.

The growth and rise of Pickerington football has been astonishing. In the 1990’s I recall Pickerington scrimmaging West Jefferson the week before the season began 5 or 6 times. I believe WJ won 3 or 4 of them.

Biggest decision for the Pickerington Central administration is to decide if they are going to stay in-house, go with a Pic Central alumn/grad/former assistant or go outside of the program. Plus & minus to each. Congrats to Coach Sharrett, the players, administration, parents and community on a great 20 year run.
 
WJ-OSU-STEELERS said:
Unless the pipeline of talent suddenly dries up I believe Pickerington Central will be just fine with the next coaching staff. Unlike Hilliard Davidson & Dublin Coffman who have struggled in replacing 20 year tenured head coaches, I believe the talent at Pickerington Central is to great to fail at this time. Over the last 20 years the only public schools in Ohio who have had as many Top 50 Ohio Seniors is Cleveland Grenville and maybe Wayne Huber Heights.

The growth and rise of Pickerington football has been astonishing. In the 1990’s I recall Pickerington scrimmaging West Jefferson the week before the season began 5 or 6 times. I believe WJ won 3 or 4 of them.

Biggest decision for the Pickerington Central administration is to decide if they are going to stay in-house, go with a Pic Central alumn/grad/former assistant or go outside of the program. Plus & minus to each. Congrats to Coach Sharrett, the players, administration, parents and community on a great 20 year run.
Click to expand...
I feel like most quality big school jobs attract proven quality candidates with successful head coaching experience and can make hiring a coach within hard to do. In this situation, where they have been one of the most successful in Ohio, I believe they will stay internal if they have a tenured assistant who is already a teacher in the district and is capable of carrying on the tradition.

Notable Hires over the years

Pick North- Hired Hamilton Township HC
Hilliard Davidson - Hired Upper Arlington HC
Upper Arlington - Hired Granville HC
Dublin Jerome - Hired Jonathan Alder HC
Dublin Coffman - Hired Minster HC
Olentangy Berlin - Hired Stow HC
Olentangy - Hired Bloom Carroll HC
Gahanna Lincoln - Hired Columbus City School HC

You look at the Worthington’s, Westerville’s, Southwestern City and I think they all hired current assistants. Basically, certain districts hire proven coaches, while others typically take chances on assistants. Again, this situation is different because of the amount of success PC has had over the years. It will be interesting, I lean toward an internal hire but won’t be shocked if they hire a current HC.
 
The change in Pickerington's culture over the last 30 years has been great.

Pickerington Tigers 1992:
1670893817320.png


Pickerington Tigers 2006:
1670893770884.png


Pickerington Tigers 2022:
1670893893504.png
 
sapientia et veritas said:
The change in Pickerington's culture over the last 30 years has been great.

I would assume a lot of the Eastside of Columbus, Reynoldsburg & Groveport has had a similar demographic change.

Sapientua et veritable - Do you happen to have the team photos of Hartley for 1992, 2006 & 2022?
Click to expand...
 
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Yes the culture change is huge. Kind of coincides with greater success . Been saying this for over a decade . It wasn’t well received of course .,
 
Good news! Coach Lomonico is taking over the program. This was really a no-brainer as anyone who knows anything about the program knew he was the logical and best choice.

He’s been the d-coordinator and assistant head coach under Coach Sharrett and deserves a lot of credit for the success the program has had the last 20 years.

Also, the majority of the coaching staff will be back, so don’t expect a lot of changes in scheme, style of play, or most importantly - success on the field!


https://twitter.com/x/status/1605923065782849536
 
This was a no brainier. No need to look anywhere else for a coach . Good luck to the new HC who has done an excellent job over there for a while now.
 
Fantastic hire. Jeff Lomanico is not only a fantastic football mind he is also very well respected throughout the state of Ohio. For those who said that the program will never be the same I have news for you..........................its going to be a powerhouse going forward for years to come.
 
Dawg Pound 4-Life said:
Fantastic hire. Jeff Lomanico is not only a fantastic football mind he is also very well respected throughout the state of Ohio. For those who said that the program will never be the same I have news for you..........................its going to be a powerhouse going forward for years to come.
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Jay was a GREAT coach and he will be missed. To quote Al McGuire, 'It's HARD to follow a legend." With 40+ seniors departing, and no impact players returning on offense, I'm thinking next season will be a challenge. It'll really be interesting to see what they do w/ QB Rocco Williams who played a bit this past season as a 9th grader. The kid seems to have a great arm, but limited athleticism. Will Jeff try to install a true passing attack or will they run the same play calling package as they've run the past several years? Using Alexander as the QB probably only works in special situations. Can't wait for next season!
 
ER8868 said:
I feel like most quality big school jobs attract proven quality candidates with successful head coaching experience and can make hiring a coach within hard to do. In this situation, where they have been one of the most successful in Ohio, I believe they will stay internal if they have a tenured assistant who is already a teacher in the district and is capable of carrying on the tradition.

Notable Hires over the years

Pick North- Hired Hamilton Township HC
Hilliard Davidson - Hired Upper Arlington HC
Upper Arlington - Hired Granville HC
Dublin Jerome - Hired Jonathan Alder HC
Dublin Coffman - Hired Minster HC
Olentangy Berlin - Hired Stow HC
Olentangy - Hired Bloom Carroll HC
Gahanna Lincoln - Hired Columbus City School HC

You look at the Worthington’s, Westerville’s, Southwestern City and I think they all hired current assistants. Basically, certain districts hire proven coaches, while others typically take chances on assistants. Again, this situation is different because of the amount of success PC has had over the years. It will be interesting, I lean toward an internal hire but won’t be shocked if they hire a current HC.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth...

Kilbourne hired a PN Asst in Edwards
Thomas hired Picetti from Bradley
WC hired Miley from Liberty
WS hired Crist from Grandview
WN (I forget, but he was an external hire and just resigned, but before the most recent guy, it was Wetzel from BW)
 
cover24 said:
For what it's worth...

Kilbourne hired a PN Asst in Edwards
Thomas hired Picetti from Bradley
WC hired Miley from Liberty
WS hired Crist from Grandview
WN (I forget, but he was an external hire and just resigned, but before the most recent guy, it was Wetzel from BW)
Click to expand...
Good info, thank you. I would think those guys are young teachers who got their 4-5 years matched or not teachers in district.
 
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