Anderson resigns as Hawks’ coach

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Woodland head football coach Chris Anderson, center, resigned earlier this month. –FILE PHOTO
Woodland head football coach Chris Anderson, center, resigned earlier this month. –FILE PHOTO

BEACON FALLS — Chris Anderson’s second stint as the head football coach at Woodland High was much shorter than his first go-round.

Anderson resigned earlier this month as the Hawks’ coach after just one season back at the helm. He led Woodland to a 7-3 mark last year, falling just short of a berth in the Class S state playoffs.

It was the second stint for Anderson at the helm of the school’s football program. He was the team’s first head coach from 2001-07. Anderson resigned to join the staff at the University of New Haven, where he spent five years before leaving after the 2012 season.

A message for Anderson seeking comment Tuesday was not immediately returned.

The coaching vacancy was posted internally at Woodland on April 18, and the posting closes May 2. A replacement is expected to be in place by the end of next week.

The new coach will be Woodland’s fourth head coach in as many seasons. Tim Shea resigned after leading the Hawks to the 2013 Class S final, and Tim Phipps took over for only one season before leaving to become the head coach at the Hopkins School.

Both Shea and Phipps were coordinators at Woodland before becoming head coaches. The only coordinator currently on staff is Chris Moffo, who has run the defensive side since 2008.

Anderson holds a career record of 56-23 in seven varsity seasons. He led the Hawks to back-to-back Naugatuck Valley League and Class SS state championships in 2004 and 2005.

He was a finalist to become Woodland’s coach in 2014 before he withdrew his name from consideration. When he was hired last June, he explained why he applied again for the job.

“Life is funny. Sometimes what you want one year is totally different from what you want the next,” Anderson said last year.

Next season, Woodland will be without all-time leading rusher Sean McAllen. He finished his career with 4,832 rushing yards — fifth most in NVL history behind Arkeel Newsome, Alex Thomas, Montrell Dobbs and Brenden Lytton.

The Hawks return a sophomore quarterback in Zach Bedryczuk and a junior running back in Ben Nuss.