Bob Shannon had never been a quitter in his 25 years of coaching.
He didn’t quit as football coach at East St. Louis Senior High School when offered a college job. He didn’t quit even when his wife, Jeanette, suggested it might be a better idea for him to look elsewhere for coaching opportunities.
“She told me I waited 10 years too long,” said Shannon, who finally stepped down last fall after taking East St. Louis Senior’s football team to six state titles.
Some questioned his quitting two games into the season.
“I wanted to make a point,” said Shannon. “There were some things that weren’t right at East Side. Either I was going to be part of the solution or I was going to be part of the problem. I decided I didn’t want to be part of the problem.”
He now has a new start at a nearby school. Beginning in August, Shannon, 51, will take over the head coaching duties at Alton High. He replaces Collis James, who resigned recently.
In 19 years as Flyers coach, Shannon had a 193-33 record. His teams made the playoffs 16 times.
Leaky water pipes, improper equipment, no doors on lockers, inadequate practice facilities–those were some of the problems at East Senior.
The other problems, according to Shannon, were in the administration.
He quit because “it was the right thing for me to do because I wanted some attention brought to some of the things that were going on here.
“When people come in and try to find ways to subvert the system to benefit themselves and not these kids, then I find something wrong with that. And I think this whole community should find something wrong with that.”
Shannon knew he needed a change of scenery. One phone call couldn’t persuade Shannon to apply for the Alton job. But a second phone call changed his mind.
“At first, I didn’t want to do it,” he said. “But when somebody else called, he told me that he thought it would be a good idea if I applied. So I changed my mind.”
