Take a bow, Dan Thorpe. A well-deserved bow.
It’s fanfare like this Thorpe may have been trying to avoid last winter when he decided to retire from coaching football at Marmion following the 2023 season, his 19th at the school.
At the same time, he chose to hold off announcing the decision until the season had ended.
A farewell tour?
Nah.
Thorpe wanted to keep the spotlight on his players and the magnificent stadium upgrades to the school’s football field and track that were scheduled to be unveiled in September.
That’s not surprising, and consistent with the approach he’s always taken.
“His dedication to the program, athletes and their families is unparalleled,” Marmion president Anthony Tinerella said of the program’s winningest coach.
Besides, he’s not leaving.
Thorpe, who turns 65 next month, will continue his duties as director of college guidance. He also continue to coach track in the spring.
“The big thing is having summers off,” Thorpe said of his new schedule and pointing to the 25 summer practices football coaches direct. “Then, I’m hustling from Aug. 15 into November.
“I’m working with all 118 Marmion seniors and their parents and just finished writing 82 letters of recommendation.”
Still, Thorpe’s 42 years of coaching football deserves recognition.
The well-traveled Wisconsin native began in 1981 as a college assistant at Wisconsin-River Falls before moving to the high school ranks, assisting at two different schools before landing his first head coaching job in 1987 at Turner in Beloit, coaching the team to a state title and runner-up finish in seven seasons.
He followed with stops at Janesville, Wisconsin, and Warrensville Heights and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in suburban Cleveland, posting a 120-60 record in 17 seasons before landing in 2005 at Marmion.
How did he end up here?
His wife, Dana, took a job at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Thorpe’s coaching stops often coincided with Danas’ career moves in museum administration. For the last 10 years, she has commuted to her job in South Carolina.
Thorpe’s teams at Marmion have made the state playoffs 10 times. His 103-84 record with the Cadets gives him a career mark of 223-144 for a .608 career winning percentage.
The highlight was his 2010 team that finished second in state in Class 6A.
Nine players from that 12-2 team went on to play in college, including linemen and brothers Graham and Ryan Glasgow (Michigan), running back/linebacker T.J. Lally (South Dakota State), running back/defensive back Nick Scoliere (North Dakota State) and linebackers Zach McNally (Army) and Mike Shares (Army).
“We emphasize life lessons but want to win and get to the state championship like everyone,” Thorpe said. “We went to state with Marmion kids — kids who came in as ninth graders and stayed with it all four years.
“It takes a special student-athlete to play any sport at Marmion. We have a lot of rules, compete in an extremely difficult conference and have challenging classes, and that’s OK.”
The Glasgow brothers and their younger brother, Jordan, who also went on to Michigan, started as preferred walk-ons in college, earned scholarships and then made it to the NFL.
Graham, currently a guard with the Detroit Lions, was drafted in 2016 in the third round. Ryan was a defensive tackle drafted in the fourth round who played for four seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. Jordan, signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts, played two seasons.
Thorpe coached two other players who reached the NFL in defensive back Tyree Talton, drafted out of Northern Iowa in 1999 by Detroit, and defensive tackle David Patterson Jr., signed by the Atlanta Falcons out of Ohio State.
“It has been an honor,” Thorpe said. “Not a day has gone by that I have not thought about Marmion football in some way.
“I have cherished every moment spent on the sidelines, guiding and mentoring the Cadets as they developed into strong, dedicated and resilient individuals.”
A well-deserved bow, indeed.
