Eric Brenner steps down after five seasons as Triway head football coach

Eric Brenner spent five years in charge of the Triway football program and has spent more than a decade more in various coaching positions at Triway High School.

While he's not a Triway grad, Brenner has spent many more years there than most who get a diploma.

Brenner handed in his resignation as Triway head football coach in mid-December, opening up the position for the first time since 2018. He will continue to teach social studies at the high school.

"After the season I had been mulling it around," Brenner said. "I didn't want to walk out after a disappointing season. But I decided to do that anyway. It's cliche because every coach that has every resigned has said the exact same thing, but I really am doing it so that I have more time to spend with my kids and my family. That's honestly it."

Brenner's first season in charge of the program was in 2018, when the Titans went 2-8, but he quickly helped turn them around, leading them to a 6-4 mark in 2019 and culminating in a 7-2 PAC-7 title run in 2021. Triway got two huge program wins during those two seasons — beating Manchester in 2019 and Fairless in 2021. The Titans finished 4-7 in 2022.

Brenner ended with a 22-25 record as Triway's head coach.

"Besides my one year at Orrville, I've been at Triway for 14 years now," Brenner said. "I coached football for 13 years there. I used to coach basketball. I used to coach baseball. This will be the first time I'm not coaching anything in the past 14 years. I've got a ton of good memories."

He's already thought about what it'll mean to not be coaching football for virtually the first time of his adult life and knows it will be a challenge.

"I legitimately do love the grind of going to practice every day and watching film and trying to beat another team," Brenner said. "That's going to be the biggest adjustment, I think, just not doing that every day. I loved every minute of coaching and that's going to be tough to give up."

Brenner, who is 36 years old, didn't rule anything out in terms of coaching high school football in the future. But for now, if he's on the sidelines it will be coaching his children.

"My 8-year-old daughter has started sports," Brenner said. "She plays soccer and flag football and tennis and she's going to do basketball this winter. I haven't had the opportunity to coach her yet and I'd like to do that."

Of course, Brenner only has good wishes for the program going forward, even though he'll be watching from the stands in 2023.

"It's a good program," Brenner said. "I think whoever they end up hiring will be in a pretty good position. We're in a good league. We have great facilities. We have great community support. We had a tough season this past year, but I don't see any reason they shouldn't be able to bounce back and get things moving in the right direction again."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Football: Brenner resigns as Triway head coach