Irontons new coach is....

[ItownHosscat]

Mark Vass...congrats and good luck to Mark.....go Tigers!

[fightingtigers45]

Best of luck to Mark Vass.

[Tigercannon71]

Congrats to Mark Vass. I think he's a great choice to lead the Tigers forward.

[playa_44]

Congratulations Coach Vass. Does anyone know his coaching record? Or does he have any head coaching experience?

[jeffie4545]

will the current assistances stay on as his stAFF ?????

[79Tiger]

I don't know anything about Mark Vass but I will be behind him and the team.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

he will do fine, i wonder how much of the current staff is staying.

[philthyphil]

I believe he was offensive coordinator at Portsmouth West at one time but not sure about head coaching experience. Maybe the Tigers will employ the shotgun this fall. Call 9-1-1!!

[CG_ALUMNI]

Congrats to Mark. I hope for him to be just as successful as Bob.

[ohbuckeye2]

http://www.irontontribune.com/2012/01/30/

Vass-ready-to-meet-challenge-as-ironton-coach/

Vass ready to meet challenge as Ironton coachPublished 1:10am Monday, January 30, 2012
Email Comments
By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

The past meets the future.

A familiar face in the Ironton football program will now lead the Fighting Tigers into the future following the hiring of Mark Vass as the new head football coach.

Vass was hired Sunday by a 5-0 vote in a special meeting of the Ironton City Schools Board of Education to succeed legendary Bob Lutz who retired following a 42-year career that saw him set the Ohio all-time record for wins at 381.

“I don’t plan to re-invent the wheel,” said Vass. “The system is in place. The players know it really well. I don’t want to lose the toughness and physical play that Ironton has always had.

“At the same time, I’ve gained a lot of experience from other programs. I’ll implement what I’m comfortable with to our program. It’s been successful for 39 or 40 years, so there’s no need to change everything. But I do want to put my stamp on it. We just need to be precise and execute.”

Ironton athletic director Mark LaFon said it became apparent during the interview process that Vass was the right coach to carry on the great tradition.

“It was obvious speaking with him and interviewing him you could tell his passion for the job is there,” said LaFon. “When he first came to Ironton, one of his reasons to come back was to coach.”

Vass was the Ironton athletic director from 2006-08 while LaFon served as head basketball coach. Vass took a physical education job and LaFon was named the athletic director.

“Knowing him through the years I got the feeling of his genuine desire to be the head football coach. I decided to recommend him through that association and through coach Lutz who made a recommendation as well,” said LaFon.

“I feel 100 percent confident in him. It has to do with the right fit. It’s the same in college and professionals. Mark is definitely the right fit. I feel we have the right candidate in Mark.”

A 1993 graduate of Ironton High School, Vass played for the Fighting Tigers’ 1989 state championship team and was the starting quarterback as Ironton made the playoffs in 1991 and 1992.

Vass later played at Marshall from 1992-93 and was on the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA national championship football team.

He transferred to Baldwin-Wallace College in 1994 and was the starting quarterback the following season.

He set a single-game completion record as he threw for 254 yards and helped the team to an OAC title.

He began his coaching career as an assistant at Cuyahoga Heights High School for two years in 1996. He then was the quarterback coach at Iona College in New York from 1998-99. He spent the next three seasons at the wide receivers coach at Otterbein College and served in the same capacity at Heidelberg College from 2001-02.

Vass was the defensive backfield coach at Marietta College the next two years before returning home as an assistant coach at Ironton in 2003. He took a teaching job at Portsmouth West from 2005-06 and was hired as an assistant football coach.

He returned to Ironton in the fall of 2006 as the athletic director for three years and has been an assistant football coach since 2007.

Vass appreciates the opportunity to be the head coach and the support he has received.

“I want to thank the school board and the administration for their support and their confidence in me. Every successful program starts at the top and I’m looking forward to working with them,” said Vass.

“I also want to thank coach Lutz and coach (Mike) Burcham for all they have done for me. Coach Lutz has taught me a great deal and has been very supportive. I look forward to carrying on what he’s built.”

Vass said he plans to meet with prospective staff members in the near future and begin preparation for the next season.

Vass and his wife, the former Brooke Anderson, have two children, a son, Maddox, 5, and a daughter, Malee, 4.

See the rest at the ironton tribune

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

congratulations and well wishes coach mark vaas.

[osu 77]

Good Luck now the hard work starts.

[LucasJackson]

Congratulations Mark! By the way, Mark graduated from Ironton in 1992 not the above mentioned 1993.
Is Mark the only Fighting Tiger to be on a state championship team and a NCAA National title team?

[BubbleGumTiger]

Congratulations Mark! By the way, Mark graduated from Ironton in 1992 not the above mentioned 1993.
Is Mark the only Fighting Tiger to be on a state championship team and a NCAA National title team?

Please dont make me research the answer to that question..........my brain is dead now so cut the ol man a little slack and enlighten me and the rest of the forum.....

are there any other Tigers who can lay claim to that achievement

[ItownHosscat]

Wasn't Bobby Lutz on one of Marshalls championships?
How about Walt Delong NAIA?

[LucasJackson]

Neither Bobby or Walt played on a state championship team at Ironton.

Mark Vass was on Irontons title team of 1989 and Marshalls 1AA title team of 1992

[ItownBrowns]

Wouldn't Jd Cyrus have been on that team also then. Jd Coffman I assume would have had he not fallen ill. Not sure though.

[Gray Fighting Tiger]

Another correction to the article... Coach Lutz and Ironton were in 11 semis, not 10
73, 75, 79, 82, 85, 88, 89, 92, 93, 95, 99
record in the semis was 8-3 (Losses in 75, 85, 95)

[BigDintigertown775]

JD Cyrus and Mark Vass were on the Ironton and Marshall championship teams....

[voodoochild]

Congrats to Coach Vass. Should be a smooth transition with a lot of good skill positions players returning. Constructing a formidable offense line will be the biggest issue. After next year, Vass will really be tested the following couple seasons when as most Ironton fans are well aware, the talent level drops off considerably from the norm.