Lansman steps down as Greene County head football coach
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
Greene County football head coach Dean Lansman has resigned, approved at last week’s school board meeting (Jan. 18).
Lansman, who spent six seasons at the helm, will continue his role as Greene County High School activities director, boys’ track coach and as a science teacher.
He said the decision to step down had been in the works for quite some time, citing the decreasing ability to invest his full attention on the football job.
“This is something that, since I’ve been AD for three years, I knew it was a decision I was going to have to make at some point. Superintendent Tim Christensen and I have been discussing it ever since I took the position,” the former Ram coach said. “He knew this group of seniors were near and dear to my heart and I wanted to do this on my timing. I for sure wanted to see this group out. It was time to make a decision and I felt this was best and the timing was right.”
Lansman compiled a 24-34 record with four playoff appearances in six seasons as Greene County coach. His best campaign came in 2011, in which he guided the formerly-known Jefferson-Scranton/Paton-Churdan Rams to a 6-4 record and a berth in the 2A playoffs. The Rams lost to fourth-ranked Spirit Lake in the opening round
The coach produced a pair of Class 3A all-state players in 2015 – Iowa State University walks-on Daric Whipple and Noah Juergensen. Whipple was named to the 3A team as a quarterback while Juergensen – a graduate of Paton-Churdan high school – was selected as a defensive end.
Lansman spent the last 15 years in the Jefferson-Scranton/Greene County football program, working his way up through the ranks. He first got his start coaching at Perry High School and was hired on by legendary Jefferson-Scranton/Paton-Churdan head coach, Bill Kibby in 2002.
Lansman took over as Jefferson-Scranton/Paton-Churdan defensive coordinator in 2004 after two seasons as a volunteer assistant. He was then promoted to head coach in 2011 after one season as co-head coach alongside Kibby, who spent 23 years as the Rams’ head coach. Kibby retired following the 2010 season with 240 career wins.
“It’s been a wonderful experience for me. It goes back to my time with coach Bill Kibby and giving me an opportunity to be apart of his staff,” Lansman said. “There are all kinds of memories, I don’t even know where to start. I had a chance to coach a lot of great kids, a lot of support has come from the parents, the community and the players. You can’t ask for much more than that as a coach.”
The Greene County football team went 1-8 during the 2016 season, with their lone win a 38-0 shutout of Perry in the annual Cowbell trophy game.
The Rams averaged 12.6 points per game and amassed 1,882 yards, scoring 15 total touchdowns.
The Ram defense forced 12 turnovers – nine fumble recoveries – and gave up an average of 32 points per game.
“I’m not going to say that I’m done coaching forever, but this point in my career, this is where I’m at and it was the decision moving forward,” Lansman said.
The Greene County activities director is a 1991 graduate of East Greene High School and was named to the 1990 Central Valley all-conference team as a quarterback and earned honorable mention his junior season.
His final season as top dog in Jefferson was a special one, as not only had he spent years and years coaching the group of seniors, his son Logan, played a key role on the defensive side of the ball as a senior. Coach Lansman cherished the opportunity to mold his son from the sidelines.
“It’s always special to coach your own son or daughter,” Lansman said. “Those are memories that you’ll never lose. This group of seniors, I had the pleasure to coach them since third grade in various sports. It was a great group of kids and even the kids around them were a great supporting cast. There is a lot of memories with them all the way through and I’ll cherish that forever.”
No replacement for Lansman has been named and the school board will conduct a coaching search in the coming weeks.
“The head football position has been posted internally as required by the Greene County Education Association Negotiated Agreement,” Christensen said. “It has been posted on the Teach Iowa website as required by law and will also be in this week’s local paper.”
Lansman will be involved in the hiring process as Greene County combs through applicants in the coming weeks. The former coach has certain characteristics and attributes he’d like to see the new coach have.
“No.1, we are looking for someone that will guide the program in the right way,” Lansman said. “Someone that will make a connection with the kids and make it a positive atmosphere. You want somebody to develop fine young men. It’s not necessarily about the wins and losses, but you want them to grow and carry those characteristics through life to make them successful.”
No specific timetable has been set for the new hire but Christensen hopes to make a recommendation to the school board at their meeting next month.
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