Feb. 10, 2007
SEATTLE, Wash. -
By MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN, SEATTLE P-I REPORTER
For the past two seasons, Mercer Island football coach Dick Nicholl contemplated retiring. On Friday, after 40 seasons as a high school coach, he finally made it official.
"I talked him out of retiring the past two years since his wife, Linda, retired," Mercer Island athletic director Craig Olson said. "I hated for this day to come. Dick is a heck of person and a great teacher."
Nicholl posted a 179-112-3 record in 31 seasons as head coach at Centralia and Mercer Island, including a 158-104 record at Mercer Island.
"It might be time to step away from football for a while," Nicholl said. "I've always felt when a door closes, another opens. I have six grandchildren, so it won't be hard to find things to do and stay busy."
Nicholl, 67, was an all-conference running back at Bothell High School. He threw the shot put for the track team, finishing third at state as a senior in 1957. Recruited to Washington by coach Jim Owens, he played two seasons before injuring his shoulder.
After a year and a half of rehabilitation, he transferred to Western Washington to earn a degree in Spanish literature. In 1963, he was an All-Evergreen Conference running back and led the team in rushing with 565 yards. That year, he set a school record of 49-11 3/4 in the shot put.
His son, Chris, was an All-America receiver at Western in 1996 and still holds school season records for receptions (82) and yardage (1,584).
Nicholl also taught Spanish for 30 years at Mercer Island.
"Teaching wasn't an afterthought to him," Olson said. "Kids loved being taught by coach Nicholl."
David Kirtman, a 2000 Mercer Island graduate who played at USC and was drafted by the Seahawks last spring, credits Nicholl with teaching him how to run hard and run low.
"He really had a great eye for talent," Kirtman said. "The man really knows football and how to coach it. ... I can't imagine Mercer Island football without Dick Nicholl."
Nicholl said he's keeping the door open in case he decides he misses the game.
"Maybe I'll come back as an assistant or maybe a freshman coach if I really miss coaching," he said. "Then again, maybe not. What I know is, it's time to step down."
Olson said he plans to start the process of replacing Nicholl next week.
"If there's any chance of having Dick come back in any capacity, we'll try and accommodate," Olson said.
