Dennis Scuderi Sr.’s coaching career has come full circle.
On Thursday, Scuderi was named head football coach at Paul VI High School, a program that gave him his first coaching job as a defensive coordinator in 1978.
“I’m very excited, ready for this challenge,” Scuderi, who resides in Barrington and works full time at PSE&G, said. “It’s a job that I always wanted. It’s where my coaching career began and we enjoyed some great success.
“I want there to be a family atmosphere and a lot of school spirit to be associated with this program. That’s what I remember about it the first time around. That’s what I want to bring back.”
Scuderi replaces Glenn Hutton, who went 7-19 during his three-year stretch that culminated with this season’s 1-9 mark. Paul VI announced on Wednesday that Hutton had stepped down to “pursue his passion for coaching football at a higher level of play.”
Less than 24 hours later, Scuderi was named head coach.
Paul VI athletic director Tony Mitchell said he went back to his notes that he took when Scuderi applied for the same job two years ago.
"Coach Scuderi fits the mold of what we are looking for to lead this program," Mitchell said. "We know he knows football and he'll have the best interest of our student-athletes at heart. He knows the process. He knows what it will take to get us back to where we feel this program should be."
Aided by already having a strong background on Scuderi, Mitchell said it was important to act quickly in hiring a new coach well ahead of the registration deadline in February.
"I think we waited too long the last time to hire someone," Mitchell said about the process when he hired John Brunozzi in 2016. Brunozzi resigned after four games that season and replaced by Hutton.
Scuderi returns to the campus that sits on Hopkins Road in Haddon Township and plans on completing his first objective very soon.
“Get into the building and talk to the kids about coming out for the team,” he said. “We’ve got to get the numbers (of athletes) up. That’s the first thing. I know there are athletes in that building. We got to get them out and playing football. I know this can be a very successful program.”
Mitchell said that the program finished this season with 38-40 players. He envisions a varsity and sub-varsity team next fall before being able to field three full teams (varsity, junior varsity and freshman) in 2020.
Scuderi hopes to return Paul VI to the glory days like the ones he experienced working under Dave Capozzi when the Eagles claimed their only state championship in 1981 with a 10-0 mark.
“I know this can be a very successful program,” he said.
Next summer, Scuderi will take the field as a head coach for the first time since 2012 when he led Camden Catholic to a 4-6 record. It was his second stint with the Irish, whom he guided from 1998-2004 to a 53-22 record and four divisional championships.
Scuderi later took over a then-struggling St. Augustine program and produced a 37-20 record from 2006-2011. The Hermits went a combined 19-2 in 2008-09 en route to Cape-Atlantic League National Conference titles.
Scuderi was relieved of his coaching duties in the middle of the 2011 season – a rare move in high school football. The Prep stated at the time that the two had "parted ways," while Scuderi said he was fired.
While not the head boss, Scuderi wasn’t out of the coaching field. He was the defensive coordinator at Deptford under his son Stephen for the past two seasons and was an assistant with his other son, Dennis Jr,. at Absegami for several years.
Scuderi also had stops as an assistant at Holy Cross under Tom Maderia and Sterling under JIm Gallagher.
Now Scuderi returns to Paul VI, the program where he was first recommended for a coaching job by South Jersey legend Jim Horner in 1978.
“He was the man that really got me involved in coaching,” Scuderi said. “Living in Collingswood, I remember running into him at the pool during the summer. He said he thought I would be a good football coach. That’s when I really started thinking about getting into coaching.”
