“All in or all out”: With personal and professional life on the rise, Whitaker bids Somerville adieu

He’s getting married soon, and being made a partner at his real estate firm.

Coaching a high school football team just didn’t fit in the equation any more. At least, not the way the job should be done.

“It’s a sad moment for me,” Dallas Whitaker told Central Jersey Sports Radio Wednesday night, just days after stepping down from the helm of the program he led to a 36-6 record over four seasons, with just five on-field losses (one this year was a COVID-related forfeit). Two of those losses came in sectional finals: to Rumson in 2018 and Woodrow Wilson in 2019.

Whitaker was brought on by Jeff Vanderbeek, the former New Jersey Devils owner who resurrected the program in 2016, after splitting time as co-head coach with Chris Cassamento in 2015. Somerville had lost 26 straight games – the second longest active streak in the state at the time – before snapping the skid with a win against North Plainfield, and finished the season 2-8.

The next year, Vanderbeek took the reins solo. And with Whitaker as Offensive Coordinator, they went 10-1, falling to Rumson-Fair Haven in the sectional semifinals in 2016, before beating the Bulldogs in 2017 to win the Central Jersey Group 3 title.

Just this Monday, the 29-year-old Whitaker had been named one of the American Football Coaches’ Association’s “35 Under 35,” which is “a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession.”

Whitaker announced his resignation via the @VilleFootball twitter account on Tuesday.