Mike Glennie has stepped down as Dexter High School's’s football coach a little more than a month after taking the job, according to a letter sent from Dexter Athletic Director Mike Bavineau to the parents of football players.
Mike Glennie
AnnArbor.com file
According to the letter, Glennie informed Bavineau Wednesday evening that he was stepping down. A search for a new coach will begin immediately, the letter said.
"My commitment, as Dexter Athletic Director, is to build a first class organization. Coach Glennie’s departure does not change our course of action and commitment to that goal," Bavineau's letter states.
Reached by phone Thursday afternoon, Bavineau confirmed the district had spoken to Glennie regarding the position, but didn’t comment further and wouldn’t confirm that he had ever been hired. Glennie did not return a call seeking comment.
Dexter Touchdown Club announced Glennie’s hiring on March 4.
Glennie coached at Saline for 10 years, through the 2011 season, and spent last year as the offensive coordinator at Pioneer.
Glennie’s resignation is the latest in what’s been a year of turmoil for Dexter athletics personnel. Since longtime coach Tom Barbieri was dismissed following the 2010 season, three coaches have come and gone. Brian Baird coached the team in 2011, but resigned in early September following a blowout loss to Pioneer. Ryan Fisher filled in for the remainder of the season on an interim basis. Last year, Barbieri was awarded $10,500 and other perks as part of a settlement with Dexter Community Schools stemming from a grievance filed following his dismissal.
"We met with the football team this morning. We did not want rumors to rule the day. We wanted to be upfront with our student athletes and let them know what our next steps would be," Bavineau said in the letter. "We discussed the fact that decisions people make often impact all us of but we can only focus on what we call the “Controllables”."
The district has also had three athletic directors in the last year and five since the end of the 2009-10 school year. Brian Steele resigned last April after six months on the job because of a disagreement with administration. In August, his replacement Darren Kecskes quit after two weeks to take a job in a different district. Bavineau became interim athletic director following Kecskes' departure and according to DexterPatch had the interim tag removed in March.
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.