New Bulldogs coach is familiar

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New Bulldogs coach is familiar

Sports

Wednesday, 12 January 2011 13:06

News-Gazette Photo/Ken Jackson

Mike Short accepted the St. Cloud football job Monday after spending the past two seasons as the program’s offensive coordinator.

Mike Short accepts FB position after Bill Buldini steps down

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
St. Cloud High is changing football coaches again, but the change should be as seamless as it possibly could be.
Less than seven months after Bill Buldini became the top Bulldog after Mark Jackson was forced to resign by Principal Pam Tapley, Mike Short, the team’s offensive coordinator the past two years, is taking over for Buldini, who stepped down for what he called, “my own personal reasons.”

“Mike will do a great job. Offensively, he’s got a loaded team coming back,” Buldini said. “He was great as my assistant head coach, and I’m excited for him and the kids.”
Buldini said he plans to remain in coaching and is seeking another position.
St. Cloud Athletic Direction Chad Ansbaugh announced the decision on Monday.
“After speaking with Ms. Tapley we thought it was the best way to go,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for Bill. Football’s a tough subject for me because I both played and coached here,” he said.
Short, the maestro of a Bulldogs’ spread formation this past season that will return nearly every skill-position starter, also is thankful for an easy transition, essential for someone serving as a school’s third coach in less than a year.
“This will be seamless and easiest on the kids, and that’s who this program is about,” he said. “It’s not about us.”
Buldini led the Bulldogs to a 7-4 record on the field in 2010, but the Bulldogs forfeited wins over Osceola and Martin County and were fined $200 by the FHSAA for using an ineligible player.
Buldini, who came to St. Cloud from Osceola as the defensive coordinator last spring before succeeding Jackson, missed a 4A District 7 game against Edgewater as school administrators tried to determine if the school would be further penalized if Buldini coached. Short served as head coach that game.
“That doesn’t have to be listed as my first game, does it?” Short asked with a laugh Monday, referring to the 20-17 loss to the Eagles that the Bulldogs led, 17-7 early in the fourth quarter. The team also moved into the new gym facility over two days that week.
Short, 36, played four years of varsity football as a linebacker and running back at Muncie (Ind.) South High School, graduating in 1993 before moving on to Ball State University in Muncie, where he played as a walk-on for one year.
After graduating from BSU in 2000 with an education degree, Short visited family and friends frequently in Florida and chose to stay.
He taught at Denn John Middle School before becoming a football assistant, head freshman coach and varsity wrestling coach at Gateway in 2001. After four years, he left Florida to become offensive coordinator at Southern Lee Williams High in Sanford, N.C. for three seasons.
He returned to Florida and was quarterbacks coach under Jackson in 2009. Last season, St. Cloud featured a 1,877-yard passer and 1,300-yard rusher in Philip Steinmetz and Irving Huggins, who both return next season.
The receiving corps of Brett Biller, Jordan Reus and Cole Harvey is back, along with fullback Eric Pfeiffer.
“Offensively we’ll stay with what we’ve done. This program’s stepped up by leaps and bounds with the spread formation,” he said.
Short said that since the bulk of the coaching staff, and the offensive starting lineup, will remain intact, he sees no reason why the Bulldogs won’t be formidable again.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I know where the program has been, and Mark really built something strong again that I hope to build on,” he said. “This is what I’ve aspired to for 15 years. I’ve got a plan, and we’ve got a great program.”
Short and his wife Katie live in St. Cloud with daughters Abby, 8, and Jordan, 4.
The Harmony football job, vacated by Dayne Brown last week, remains open.