Boyd Manne was looking for a change of scenery.
He found it in Washington, Missouri.
Manne, the head football coach at Lafayette High for the past 20 seasons, has accepted the same position at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School.
The 56-year old replaces legendary coach Dale Gildehaus, who retired after 38 seasons with a 304-122 mark.
“It’s a new challenge with new opportunities,” Manne said.
Manne, who got his heading coaching start with Parkway West in 2000, will finish out the school year at Lafayette.
He and his wife Angela plan to move to the Washington area in the near future.
Manne has relatives in Franklin County and is very familiar with the area, which made the job even more appealing.
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“My family has always had the Washington area in our sights where we kind of want to live,” Manne said. “When this job opened up, I was excited about getting to coach at a school with such a rich athletic tradition.”
Manne is synonymous with Lafayette football. He took over the program in 2004 and led the Lancers to a pair of state semifinal berths, including last season.
Lafayette lost to Helias 14-13 in the Class 5 semifinal round in late November to cap a 12-2 season.
“I loved my time at Lafayette,” Manne said. “The school and community have been great. All three of my children attended school here and it was home for us.”
The move is surprising given Manne’s ties to Lafayette. He was a three-sport athlete at the school before graduating in 1987.
Manne has recorded 170 wins during his career.
“People thought I would eventually go on and retire (from Lafayette) down the road,” Manne said. “But this has always been a plan of ours.”
Manne realizes that he stepping into some huge shoes at Borgia.
Last season, Gildehaus became just the ninth coach in Missouri to hit the 300-win mark.
“You can’t replace Coach Gildehaus,” Manne said. “He has established some great traditions. My goal is to enhance what he’s done and maybe bring some things I’ve done in the past 25 years and make them work.”
Manne was recently inducted in the Missouri Football Coaches Hall of Fame and gained entrance into the St. Louis Metro Football Coaches HOF in 2024.
“He comes to us with a great amount of success and experience,” Borgia athletics director Chris Arand said. “We’re excited to see where he can lead this program.”
Manne will become only the fifth head coach at Borgia and just the third in the last 60 years.
“I’m far from being done as a head coach,” Manne said. “I plan on being at Borgia for a long time. We’re really looking forward to our new chapter.”
