Mitch Hewitt, who restored Chardon football to one of the best programs in Ohio during his 14 seasons, is stepping down as head football coach, he announced in a statement online.

“Chardon football is special not because of a coach or any one person, as I will promptly be replaced as all coaches are,” Hewitt wrote. “It’s special because of the community of people and players that have given so much to build and maintain our program. Every player, coach, parent and member of this great community has laid a brick upon a foundation that will stand for decades to come.

“The amount of joy that Chardon football has brought me is indescribable. Everyone thinks a coach is the one giving, but the amount that I have received from Chardon football amounts to some of my life’s fondest memories.”

Chardon had endured three straight losing seasons when Hewitt was hired in 2011,  unheard of for a program that had earned a state title in 1994 and runner-up in 1998. After a 4-6 record his first year, his teams’ only losing season, Hewitt-coached teams went on to go 126-36 and win state titles in 2020 and 2021.

Chardon made 10 playoff appearances in the span.

Hewitt said his coaching style did not lend itself to longevity.

“One of my greatest strengths is my intensity and investment in things that make things go a certain way,” Hewitt said on the phone just after the announcement. “I don’t really have an off switch, and because of that, sometimes there is fatigue. I’m not a 30-year coach.”

A 1999 Chardon graduate, Hewitt was a star on the 1998 football team that finished second in the state. He went on to play football at Bowling Green State, and for one season under championship coach Urban Meyer.

Hewitt will continue teaching at Chardon High School, he said. And will continue to help with the Chardon football program where he can. But being the CEO of “so many moving parts” took its toll.

“Coaching is in my DNA,” he said. “I love being around young people. And by not being the head guy, I can get back to coaching. I’m looking forward to coaching kids. Tomorrow I’m going to be in the weight room.”

He recounted how, after a loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary in the first round of the 2014 playoffs, Hewitt stayed back as his players and coaches went into the locker room. He was unsure if a public program like Chardon could overcome the private school factor.

But those fears were unfounded when Chardon beat St. Francis DeSales in the 2020 state title game in double overtime, though they’d been losing at halftime.

Hewitt’s postgame speeches could be as intense as the game, in Memorial Field’s north endzone in front of the Hilltoppers marching band. Most of those speeches ended with a lesson on what Hewitt thought it meant to stand for Chardon, and how players needed to act off the field.

“I am proud of our on-field success, but I am even more proud of the men who I see getting married, raising children, graduating from college, having successful careers,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt and his wife, Gail, live on Chardon Avenue with their four kids. The couple own the King Kone ice cream shop in Chardon. In his statement, he thanked his family. “She has been my therapist, biggest fan, harshest critic and my friend when it seemed extremely lonely,” he said of his wife. 

Hewitt said he “zero idea” who the next Hilltoppers head football coach could be. He also said he was not stepping away for another opportunity at this time. Hewitt still has two sons in the Chardon football program who will play football in the seventh and fourth grades next school year.

Among Chardon football’s many traditions is that former players and coaches enter the “Hilltopper graveyard,” they call it. To that end, the graveyard’s newest member finished with this:

“The only thing I ask is that the next time the graveyard all gets together, it better not be at my funeral. Forever grateful for my time on the hill!”