The official word out of Don Bosco Prep is that Greg Toal retired Wednesday.
But as of late Thursday night, you won’t hear the legendary football coach admit it.
NJ Advance Media reached Toal by phone at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, just hours after the man with 305 career wins to his name was a no-show at the Don Bosco press conference.
The ceremony was announced with a press release from the school early Thursday – citing Toal’s “retirement” and the hiring of his successor and former player, Mike Teel – but made no mention that Toal would not be in attendance.
When asked Thursday night if he could confirm he retired and it was solely his decision, Toal said, “I can’t answer that right now. I’m sorry.”
With many wondering about Toal’s whereabouts Thursday inside the Don Bosco Prep auditorium during the press conference, speculation ran rampant as to why and how Toal’s sudden exit materialized.
Many wondered if Toal — arguably the greatest high school coach in state history who brought nine state titles to Don Bosco — was forced out by the school, but Don Bosco officials adamantly denied that claim Thursday.
Once the ceremony ended, Don Bosco officials only further clouded the situation, with athletic director Brian McAleer and Director/President Father James Heuser both being non-committal about the exact details pertaining to Toal’s abrupt retirement.
McAleer said he had not yet spoken to Toal about his retirement – “we weren’t able to connect,” he said – and Hueser would neither confirm or deny that Toal called him to inform him of his retirement on Wednesday.
McAleer said he was informed by Heuser of Toal’s retirement early Thursday morning, but Heuser said he had already offered the position to Teel, which he accepted, late Wednesday night.
“I’m not going to get into those details [of how Toal announced his retirement],” Heuser said. “It’s not important to the situation. He retired. That’s it. He chose to retire. It’s in the press release. That’s the story.”
JJ Conrad may be reached at jconrad@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jj_conrad. Find NJ.com on Facebook
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