Dimitroff, a 1975 Central grad, served as offensive coordinator last season as the Irish finished the season 7-4, qualifying for the Division VII, Region 28 playoffs. The Irish fell to Fort Loramie 38-16 in a first-round game.
In his fifth decade of coaching, Dimitroff is back as a head coach for the first time since the mid-1990s.
“I just turned 65 years old,” Dimitroff said. “I’m still excited and can get fired up. Nothing’s changed for me. I’m blessed to have the support of my wife Cindy and I get to coach with my son Dimitrious. I’m ready to go.”
Dimitroff began his coaching career as an assistant coach under both Mickey Hannon and Steve DeWitt with the Irish from 1976 through 1982. He then coached at South and Wittenberg before returning to Central from 1988 through 1991, helping the Irish to a state runner-up finish in his final season.
He coached at North as an assistant for two seasons before becoming the head coach from 1994 through 1997. In 1998, he became an assistant coach at Upper Arlington where he stayed for 15 seasons, winning a state championship in 2000 where he coached Ohio Mr. Football Jeff Backes.
In 2014, he joined the staff at Springfield for two seasons before going back to Wittenberg as an assistant under Joe Fincham, winning four straight North Coast Athletic Conference titles from 2016 through 2019. After the 2020 Wittenberg season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dimitroff returned to his alma mater in 2021.
The Irish return a strong squad from last season that advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. OHC South Player of the Year and Dayton commit Ashton Young graduated, but several key players return. The Irish also bring in a strong eighth grade class that won the OHC South middle school title last fall.
“We’ve got a lot of kids back,” Dimitroff said. “We’ve got some more freshmen out this year. The numbers look a little bit better than they’ve been in the past.”
The Irish will run multiple formations on offense. Southeastern grad Brian Cooper, who coached with Dimitroff at Wittenberg during its four-year NCAC title run, will take over as defensive coordinator this fall.
“We had trouble at times stopping the run and we know that’s one of the things we’ve got to get better at,” Dimitroff said.
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