Prairie Football

Morrissey brings great expectations for Hawks

Mike Morrissey and his wife, Jessica, are expecting their second child this fall, just in time for his first season as the new football coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

There will be great expectations at Prairie as well.

Morrissey is only 28, but he's already coached at three different colleges and led Thornridge High School of Dolton, Ill., to the state playoffs last season in his first year as head coach.

Prairie announced Morrissey as its new coach Wednesday afternoon. He succeeds Craig Jelinek, who retired after the 2010 campaign with a 106-96 record in 20 years.

"I'm extremely excited," Morrissey told the Metro Sports Report. "It's a big step for my family. We're definitely ready to get started."

Morrissey comes from a football family. His father, Ed Morrissey, was a Hall of Fame coach at Pleasant Valley High School and is currently an assistant coach at St. Ambrose University.

"I was going to Pleasant Valley games probably from the time I could walk," he said. "I was a ballboy there from the time I was in fifth grade all through eighth grade."

Morrissey played for his father at Pleasant Valley and was a starting quarterback.

"His impact on my life has been tremendous," said Morrissey. "I learned a lot about myself though my experiences as a high school football player, being able to be around their coaching staff and the great people that have been at Pleasant Valley as well.

"To this day, he's still the best coach I know. I've been very blessed to have him as a resource and somebody I can rely on for help."

Morrissey attended a football camp at the University of Iowa prior to his senior year at Pleasant Valley. He already knew he'd like to coach, but that camp may have convinced him. Coaching appeared to be a wiser career path than the NFL.

"You get a pretty good idea of the guys that they're recruiting, especially at the quarterback position," he said. "I was sitting there at 6-foot, 165 or 170 pounds, and they're talking to the 6-4, 220 guys. I had a strange feeling my football career wouldn't go too far."

Morrissey played quarterback at Upper Iowa University in Fayette and began his coaching career there. He also coached at St. Cloud State and Rockford College.

Morrissey declined to be specific about his style of offense and defense, saying he'll evaluate players before making any strategic decisions. "It really depends on your personnel," he said.

"Our football philosophy can be described as total effort," he explained. "It's something my dad used for as long as I can remember. It's not just football-based.

"We want to build our young men to have great character and great ethics, to make them better people overall, not just athletes ... better students and better at everything they're doing in their lives.

"I hope that's something we can get across to our guys, to help make them better young men than when we came in. That's the goal."

Morrissey said his teaching position at Prairie has not been finalized. He said he'll teach physical education, perhaps health and could work in the career center as well.

He and his wife will begin looking for a new home this spring and plan to move to the College Community area this summer. The school year at Thornridge ends in early June.

Morrissey said he'll begin putting his new staff together this spring and plans to meet with Jelinek's assistant coaches who may want to stay with the program.

Morrissey is the eldest of five children, all of whom have been involved with sports. His brother, Joe, is a sophomore on the football team at St. Ambrose. Another brother, Jim, is a freshman at Pleasant Valley who played on the sophomore team last season.