When Wooster High School athletic director Andy Kellar began the search for a new head football coach for the Generals’ football team, he did so with the intention of taking as much time as necessary to find the right fit.

Doug Haas made sure Kellar’s search wasn’t a long one.

Haas, the current Cloverleaf football coach, but a resident of Wooster, made such a positive impression after the first round of interviews the process was cut short and his name advanced to the Wooster City School’s Board of Education as a recommendation to be hired.

The board followed through on that recommendation and Haas was hired as the Generals’ new head coach.

Haas replaces Wooster alum and long-time time coach Mike McCreary, who served as head coach at Wooster for 13 years. McCreary finished his tenure with a 69-63 record and a pair of Ohio Cardinal Conference championships and playoff appearances in 2003-04.

Haas comes to Wooster with three previous head coaching positions, each three years long. He was 14-16 at Cloverleaf, with previous stints at Triway (13-18) and Rittman (17-13). Rittman and Triway both advanced to the state playoffs, a factor that weighed into the selection process.

“I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and went to a high school similar to Wooster from as standpoint of size,” said Haas. “As a sophomore I was part of a State champion football team, which would have been considered Division I. I went to Ohio Wesleyan because I wanted to play small-college football. My parents both went to Ohio Wesleyan, which is how I came to look at Ohio Wesleyan and Denison, but I didn’t look at (The College of) Wooster.”

Haas went to St. Lawrence for a year before returning to Ohio to be an assistant at The College of Wooster in 1995.

“I was closer to Ottawa than Syracuse and I was looking to get back (to Ohio),” said Haas. “I came here in 1995, making part-time money worse then it is now, but fortunately, a resident director position (at the college) opened up so I could eat and sleep for free and be able to survive on part-time money.”

He met his future wife, Heidi Filippi, in the summer of 2002 and realized the hours of a college coach wasn’t going to be conducive to raising a family. When a position as head coach at Rittman opened up, he applied for and accepted the position when offered.

“I went to Rittman in the ’03 season and I fell in love with high school athletics,” said Haas. “You’re working with kids trying to define themselves, who are more malleable and you can leave a more lasting impression on them. It was a small school setting and I was the track and field coach and the last year athletic director after the majority of my coaching staff was RIF’d.

“Triway was a great experience and the seniors really bought in to what we were trying to do. Then Ron Tisher, who was principal at Cloverleaf and was actually the scoreboard operator at Rittman when I was there, asked if I had any interest (in the Cloverleaf job). It was a Division II school, the facilities were great and I wanted to test myself at a bigger level and working with more kids. It was a really good experience in terms of learning.”

Still, Haas had memories of Wooster, especially since it was his hometown.

“All along, when I was at The College of Wooster and Mike Hallett was head coach at Wooster High School, Mike and I were friends. I looked at Mike and thought I would like to be in his position at some point in time,” said Haas. “If that opportunity presented itself, I thought I would have an interest.

“I was not actively seeking anything, but when Mike (McCreary) stepped down (at Wooster), it was one of those things. The hardest part in leaving Cloverleaf is it ought to be pretty good (this fall). That made it a real challenge

“But, the question I posed to myself was: ‘How often does the Wooster job come open?’ Mike was here 13 years… I couldn’t pass this up. It’s a tremendous opportunity to have tremendous success. It’s a matter of making sure we do the right thing and make sure the kids are taking care of business in the classroom and the hallways.”

Haas is going to look at members of the Generals’ current staff, as well as bringing in some from the outside.

“I am going to take the opportunity to sit down and communicate my vision and my expectations,” said Haas. “If we can jell, we’ll proceed. In my discussions with Andy, it feels like the quality of coaches is there. I just have to make sure we’re on the same page and teach what I believe are the fundamentals of the game.

“Mike laid the foundation for some good things. It’s a matter of enhancing those strengths and turning weaknesses into strengths.”