(Photo by Stephen Goldsmith) FASHION STATEMENT: Princeton High football head coach Steve Everette exhorts his team in action last fall. Last week, Everette announced that he was resigning from his post, citing a clash of styles. Everette posted an overall record of 35-45 in his eight-year tenure, including state playoff appearances in 2007 and 2009.

PHS Football Head Coach Everette Stepping Down; Proud of His Work in Leading Program’s Renaissance

Bill Alden

Heading into the fall of 2002, the Princeton High football team badly needed a jolt of energy.

The moribund Little Tigers had become the doormat of the Colonial Valley Conference, struggling to a 6-52 record over the six previous seasons.

Things started to change that fall when Steve Everette came in as the new head coach and breathed new life into the program.

The animated, intense Everette undertook the rebuilding job with gusto, working overtime to attract more players to the program and make the Little Tigers more competitive. Although PHS went 3-17 in Everette’s first two seasons, the groundwork was in place for a reversal of fortune.

In 2004, the Little Tigers broke through to respectability, going 5-5. Over the next five years, PHS went 27-23 and made the state playoffs in 2007 and 2009.

But last week, the PHS players and the program’s supporters got a jolt as Everette announced that he was stepping down from his post.

In explaining the move, Everette, 40, said it came down to a clash of styles.

“It is just a matter that I am not necessarily the right fit any more,” said Everette, who plans to continue teaching special education at PHS.

“The school has to be cognizant of its image and Coach Everette is not the most politically correct guy all the time.”

Everette acknowledged that it wasn’t easy stepping away from the program.

“The rumor mill has been out and about over the year that I was going to this place or that place but for eight years I didn’t leave,” said Everette, who guided the Little Tigers to a 7-3 record last fall. “This became home and it is always tough to leave home.”

It was a tough moment when Everette told his players about his decision.

“I wanted to meet with the parents and the kids so they would find out about this from me,” said Everette, noting that some of the players went to the school board meeting last week in order to ask it not to accept Everette’s resignation. “The mood was somber.”

Everette is anything but somber when he reflects on what his players have accomplished over his tenure.

“I think the kids have done a fantastic job of taking what we taught them and applying it; they became better in the classroom, the community and with their families,” asserted Everette, who posted an overall record of 35-45 in his PHS tenure.

“They did the work in the offseason and they bought into what we were doing offensively and defensively. The kids and the families of Princeton and Cranbury did a great job. When you do the other stuff, the wins take care of themselves.”

Princeton Regional Schools Athletics Director John Miranda appreciates Everette’s work in getting the program back on the winning track.

“Princeton High football was in a down cycle in the ‘90s and I know that Steve raised the level of competitiveness of our program,” said Miranda, noting that the search for Everette’s successor has started and the school will be considering candidates both inside and outside the program. “Making the playoffs in two of the last three years was really nice.”

In Miranda’s view, Everette had an impact at PHS beyond the football field. “Steve’s strength is his relationship with the kids; he did a nice job with that,” added Miranda, whose sons John and Nick were PHS football standouts under Everette.

“We have had a number of football players playing other sports and he encouraged that. It has led to a family-type atmosphere where it is not just football parents cheering at football games, it is football parents at lacrosse or basketball games. He helped promote school spirit across the board. I wish him well in whatever he does.”

For Everette, the greatest satisfaction may come from how his kids have represented the PHS football family after graduation.

“We are sending a lot of them on to college,” said Everette. “It is great when they come back and tell me the things they are doing, like getting a job in New York City and stuff like that.”

The success of the PHS football team has impacted things around the sports scene at the school.

“I think we have changed the attitude as to how athletes are viewed in this building,” said Everette. “There is a brand new weight room which our parents booster club helped fund. There is a change in culture, you see the kids from all the teams in there working hard.”

When it comes to hard work, Everette certainly set a tone. “I did the job the best way I knew how,” maintained Everette.

“I asked the kids to leave it on the field and I left it in working with them in the weight room, working late in my office, talking to college coaches, hitting the streets of the community and going to Pop Warner games.”

While Everette is looking forward to filling his time with some other pursuits, he doesn’t rule out a return to coaching someday.

“You never know, maybe a little birdie is telling me I have done everything I should in coaching and that I should do different things,” said Everette.

“I have a beautiful 11-year old daughter who is getting into sports; I want to be the best softball or basketball dad that I can be. Maybe some team will want a crazy guy to be an assistant coach.”

And if another team does add Everette to its staff, it will certainly be getting a jolt of positive energy.

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