Addison assistant principal, athletics director and football coach Joshua Lindeman resigns

ADDISON — Joshua Lindeman, named the Associated Press Division 7-8 football coach of the year just this month, has stepped down as the head football coach, athletic director and assistant principal at Addison schools.

Lindeman read a statement at the Addison Community Schools Board of Education meeting Monday, saying he wanted to remain with the district but feels school officials would not work with him to accomplish that goal. He’s accepted a teaching job at another school and will begin that job in January.

His last day in the Addison district will be Friday, Jan. 5.

“It took a lot of prayer and a lot of talking with my family and some of my friends and colleagues,” Lindeman said. “At this time, it’s just what’s best for all of the one’s that I loved who are involved. Ultimately, It’s the football players and students at Addison who suffer.”

He said the entire high school football coaching staff also resigned.

Lindeman emphatically said he wanted to continue as football coach and remain at Addison, but a dispute with school officials led to his resignation.

“I’m stepping down because Dan Bauer, the superintendent, would not work with me and let me step down as athletic director,” Lindeman said. “I asked him on several occasions, and he chose not to.”

He added that he felt an agenda being pushed by board members was the reason his resignation as athletic director was not being accepted.

“My first meeting with Dan was Oct. 5. After asking him several times through meeting during the month of October, he told me on Nov. 2 that, no, he was not letting me step down and wanted me to remain athletic director and assistant principal.”

Lindeman applied for an open teaching position with the district in early November.

“I was informed by administration they weren’t going to let me go back to the classroom as a teacher and that I had to stay on as athletic director and assistant principal if I liked it or not,” Lindeman said.

A Hudson graduate, Lindeman came to Addison 10 years ago as football coach. During his tenure, the Panthers have won five Cascades Conference championships, qualified for the playoffs six times and won nine games twice. One of those nine-win seasons was this year when Addison went 9-0 in the regular season, had the highest scoring offense in the state of Michigan and won the first ever Cascades Conference championship game.

After the season, he was named Lenawee County Coach of the Year by The Daily Telegram and by a vote of county coaches. An Associated Press panel of sportswriters voted him as co-Coach of the Year in Division 7-8 in part because Lindeman took a 5-5 team last year and fought through some remarkable adversity to go undefeated in the regular season.

“We pride ourselves in developing football players,” he said.

Several of the current members of the Addison football team were on hand at the board meeting Monday to hear Lindeman’s statement. He said he hoped to meet with players face-to-face this week to explain his decision.

Lindeman said he and his family had talked for a while now about him stepping down as athletic director so he could spend more time with them. Doing so would have allowed him to continue coaching at Addison.

“I wanted to stay at Addison,” Lindeman said. “I wanted to stay at Addison, but this guy would not let me stay at Addison. All I wanted to do was step down as athletic director and he wouldn’t let me.”

He has not accepted a coaching position at his new district and said he’s not ready to talk about coaching at this point.

“My heart and mind are still coaching the Addison Panthers,” he said. “Yes, as time heals the wound, I’ll get the urge to coach. At some point, yes, but that’s not on my radar right now. Right now, it’s emotionally surviving.”

The Telegram has reached out to superintendent Bauer for comment.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Addison's Joshua Lindeman resigns from district positions