Watching the state championship football games on television over the weekend, Geron Stokes decided it was time for a change.
Stokes has stepped down after four seasons as Dublin Coffman football coach. He told his players Monday during weightlifting.
“I watched the state championships this weekend and I just said it’s time,” he said. “That was pretty much it.”
The Shamrocks went 25-25 under Stokes with winning seasons in 2023 and 2022. They were 4-9 this season, winning two Division I, Region 2 playoff games despite being seeded 14th of 16 teams.
“It was awesome there,” Stokes said. “I had a great experience at Coffman. Year one we got the culture we wanted. Year two we won (the OCC-Central). We had awesome kids that transformed their work habits. Year three we went to the regional finals, but we overachieved a ton. Year four might have been the best, but we had a tough schedule, and our kids stayed together and never wavered.”
Coffman was led this season by senior quarterback Amari Valerio-Hudson, an Army commit who was named first-team all-district and all-OCC-Central. Valerio-Hudson switched from wide receiver to quarterback for his final prep season.
“The way (Stokes) pushed people to be the best version of themselves is what made him such a great coach,” Valerio-Hudson said. “He was a great mentor and friend for me and always held me and my teammates to a high standard.”
Stokes was 71-31 at Minster from 2013-20, guiding the Wildcats to the Division VI state championship in 2014 and the Division VII state title in 2017. Minster also was Division VII state runner-up in 2016.
He also coached at his alma mater, Urbana, from 2009-12, going 29-13. He was a quarterback who played at Urbana University before finishing his career at Wittenberg.
Stokes, 40, was an intervention specialist in Dublin City Schools before stepping down in May. He is currently a corporate leadership consultant with The Learning Leader Show and lives in Urbana with his wife and two daughters.
He plans to coach again and is keeping his options open.
“I’m going to coach,” he said. “There’s certain environments and certain places that have or want high standards. I’ll find that. I’m a football coach.”
