Harold Smith resigns as Upper Merion football coach

UPPER MERION >> Harold Smith will not return next season as the Upper Merion High School football coach.

That news became official this week when sources confirmed the Vikings head coach, who accumulated a 16-51 mark over the past six seasons, submitted his resignation.

Vikings Athletic Director Robert Devers said the school cannot comment on personnel matters, but Smith said the dismissal was not something completely unexpected.

“It was time to resign,” the coach said. “I’ll miss the kids, and I’ll miss coaching in the PAC-10, which is a class league,

“I really appreciated working with the kids, they were a lot of fun to work with, and building the program up from 20-odd kids that were here when I first arrived was enjoyable. So many of those kids began coming back to visit in the last couple of years and I really enjoyed that. I’ll truly miss that.”

Smith took the reins at Upper Merion following the short tenure of Joe Powel, who went 11-29 in four seasons.

His best season came in 2015 when the Vikings finished 5-7 including a Thanksgiving Day win over Norristown in what was the first Upper Merion-Norristown Turkey Day football game played since 1989.

But this year the Vikings entered the Thanksgiving Day with Norristown with just three wins on the season, and watched a late lead disappear as the Eagles scored twice in the final 4:00 to pull out a 35-28 win.

On Monday, Smith met with the school officials and announced his intentions.

“I spoke to the kids on Monday and told them I wasn’t returning,” Smith said.

As for his future, Smith said he may return to football in some capacity. But for the moment, his intention is to relax.

“Right now, I’m just chilling and waiting for Chistmas,” Smith said. “I’ll think about my future plans in the next couple of months.

“Coaching is enjoyable, and I may consider a few things. But for now, I’m just going to relax.”