Q&A with Mansfield coach Mike Redding
Recently, Mansfield coach Mike Redding was inducted into the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
In Redding's time at Mansfield, the Hornets have won 15 Hockomock League titles and seven Super Bowl or state crowns.
Since he came to the program, Redding turned Mansfield from a mid-tier program into one of the best in the state annually, challenging his players with a tough non-league schedule to go along with the always-difficult Hockomock slate.
We spoke on the phone with Redding to get his thoughts on his time so far with the Hornets as he looks forward to the 2019 season.
Here is an edited version of that conversation.
MassVarsity: Congrats on the Hall of Fame selection. That must have been fun.
Mike Redding: Yeah, it was a fun night having the family there, a lot of assistant coaches and some of the administrators. Good crew of people there to kind of share in it.
MV: Yeah, that's great. So I guess the first thing I'd want to ask is, did you come straight to Mansfield from Holy Cross?
MR: No, Holy Cross I coached '83, '84, '85, and then I actually volunteered in North Attleboro for a while in '86. And then I did Brown for one year while I was getting my master's from there. Then I came to Mansfield from Brown.
MV: OK. And you went to North Attleboro, correct?
MR: Yeah, I went back home for a year. I had to take a couple of classes before I could get into the Brown program because I hadn't majored in education, so I just lived at home, took some classes, and volunteered there with football and track, and started at Brown that next summer.
MV: Was the plan the whole time to get a head coaching gig at the high school level?
MR: No, I was really torn between going back to college after Brown. Brown offered me a full-time job, and there were a couple other things going, but I did have an interest in being a head high school coach and teaching and going that way. So I actually, really couldn't decide when I graduated from Brown, so I applied to the peace corps. I was supposed to go to Papa New Guinea for a year. I was like, 'Oh, I'll do that, and sort myself out when I come back when I know what I'm going to do.' That summer, I saw that the Mansfield job . . . I was reading the local paper, the Sun Chronicle, and saw that the coach was stepping down. He was a social studies teacher. He also coached track. It was like the perfect storm of, hey, I could step in and sort of, if I get this, I could be coaching football, track, and teach. I ended up meeting with the principal, and I ended up getting all three, and told the peace corps I had to pull out. It was just too good of an opportunity. But even then, when I came to Mansfield, I figured it would be a couple of years and then see what happens next. And then, 31 years later, I'm still here.
MV: Yeah, it's amazing. So, when you got to Mansfield, obviously there's a lot that goes into building a program. What was your first order of business to sort of get everybody on the same page. What did you have to do to establish that?
MR: I think the big thing when I got here was, I think they needed to open up offensively. I had kind of played against them and coached a little bit against them when I was at North. Mansfield always had tough kids. They always played great defense, but just very conservative offensively. So I think my background helped, because I was a receiver and done a lot with the pass game at Holy Cross and Brown. So I think that helped just opening up the offense and matching that up with that tough, hard-nosed defense. Then I think the other thing, just the offseason commitment and working in the weight room all offseason, in the summer, conditioning program in the summer. I kind of brought some stuff over from college, kind of preparing kids. I think that second year, when I had a full offseason, just that made a big difference. But I got lucky. When I came in, we had a small senior class but a really good junior class. That first year, we struggled, but the second year, we won the league, we went to the Super Bowl, we lost to Lincoln-Sudbury. But I walked into a really, really good class of juniors that would be seniors in my first full year. And that kind of got the momentum going. Whether or not I deserved it, people kind of bought into our program, because we won and we went undefeated in the league. Then it kind of got rolling from there. The program kind of picked up momentum.
MV: It had probably been a while since Mansfield had been that good, correct?
MR: Yeah, in '76 they won the league. That was their last league title. And, actually, we upset them. I was at North as a sophomore, and they ended up 9-1, and our upset actually kept them out of the Super Bowl. They were really good that year. They just had a couple of turnovers in the game and we stole a couple of points and we hung on for dear life. I think we ended up winning by one. But that was their last league title and their last shot at a Super Bowl.
MV: And you're at Mansfield, obviously at the time, it was Foxboro, North Attleboro as the real established programs . . .
MR: And Canton was really, really good in the '80s.
MV: Right. So what was it like in terms of climbing that ladder in terms of, and then in the 90s, then getting to the top there?
MR: I think the '89 season was big to get the confidence that we could compete. Then in the early 90s, we had a really good run of talent. We had (running back) Omari Walker, (tackle) Jamie Sullivan, some really good players. We ended up, I think we won Super Bowl titles '92, '94, '96. We had Freddy Vallett as a QB in '94, and then Joe Todd in '96, who played at Hofstra. So, it was funny, we were one of the smaller schools in the league and the division, we just happened to have a great core of talent. We had a really good run in the early 90s. And then, what happened, and no one planned on this, but all of a sudden, the building boom came in, and there were colonials going up all over the place. And we went from being one of the smaller schools in the league and the division to being one of the bigger ones by the time we got to the 2000s. That's where we got onto that second roll. All of a sudden, instead of 600 kids, we've got 1,300 kids in the building. And now, every other year where we're trying to compete for titles, we were able to do it year after year after year with the numbers that we had.
MV: One thing that I've always admired about your program since you've been there is you always "schedule up." You played Xaverian in the 90s . . .
MR: Yeah, and that was kind of our worst stretch. I wish we could play them in our good years, but it is what it is.
MV: Yeah, I mean them, you played Everett. You play all these out-of-state teams. Why do you think it's important for your program to do that?
MR: I think, more when I schedule those teams, our players believe that we believe in them. Hey, if coach is scheduling Everett, and coach is scheduling BC High, he believes we can be really good. Our staff believes in us. So, it gives the kids in the offseason just that confidence that the coaching staff believes in them. Just that motivation that we better be ready, because those games are early and we're playing top-level teams. I think you have to do that to prepare for the Hockomock. As good as some of those teams are, there are even better teams in the Hockomock that might not have the talent as some of those schools, but might be better coaching, maybe better system. They know you. So it's just a lot of good dividends to preparing for the Hockomock League, giving the kids motivation and confidence. And the out-of-state games are just an added thing of team bonding, going on a trip together for three, four days, and hanging out in the hotel, and that builds a lot of unity as we go forward through the season.
MV: Were there any wins along the way that sort of stick out as extra big? Maybe a Super Bowl win here, or a regular season win over a rival?
MR: Yeah, the ones I'll never forget, I remember in '96, we were undefeated. North Attleboro was undefeated, maybe had a loss. We were down, 13-0, in the fourth quarter, and we came back and won the game, 14-13, with back-to-back scores, and ended up winning the Super Bowl in '96, and I think being ranked No. 1 in the state by the Globe and the Herald. So that just doesn't happen in North Attleboro, where you come back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the stakes so high. And I think the other one was the Super Bowl at Gillette where we were down to Reading, 19-7, at halftime. You're coming back. You've got 20 minutes of game. You've only got three timeouts, and you've got to kick the ball to them. I mean, I walked into the locker room thinking we don't have a prayer. When I got to the locker room, the kids kind of sold me that they still believed. We came out and somewhat miraculously came back to win that one and win the title. So that one definitely stands out in terms of playoff wins.
MV: Do you take a certain amount of pride in the fact that you guys don't really do it with a Division I-laden roster? It's mostly just good high school players that end up at the D2 or D3 level. That's pretty impressive.
MR: That was one of the things I mentioned. We don't get to talk for too long for the Hall of Fame, but we've had some really good players, obviously, along the way. Occasionally, a Division I, but it's just that blue-collar kid that overachieves and ends up being a really good Division 3 college player. Two inches too short, not quite fast enough, but just a great high school player. And there are so many of those kids that weren't much as freshmen, but by senior year were great players and helped win us a lot of championships. I think that's maybe the thing I'm most proud of with some of the runs we've had with consecutive league titles, because winning in this league, a title every 10 years is hard enough, never mind winning four, five in a row. Really, that comes from those guys that just grind it out, buy in to the program, and just show up senior year ready to go, and find a way to win in this league.
In Redding's time at Mansfield, the Hornets have won 15 Hockomock League titles and seven Super Bowl or state crowns.
Since he came to the program, Redding turned Mansfield from a mid-tier program into one of the best in the state annually, challenging his players with a tough non-league schedule to go along with the always-difficult Hockomock slate.
We spoke on the phone with Redding to get his thoughts on his time so far with the Hornets as he looks forward to the 2019 season.
Here is an edited version of that conversation.
MassVarsity: Congrats on the Hall of Fame selection. That must have been fun.
Mike Redding: Yeah, it was a fun night having the family there, a lot of assistant coaches and some of the administrators. Good crew of people there to kind of share in it.
MV: Yeah, that's great. So I guess the first thing I'd want to ask is, did you come straight to Mansfield from Holy Cross?
MR: No, Holy Cross I coached '83, '84, '85, and then I actually volunteered in North Attleboro for a while in '86. And then I did Brown for one year while I was getting my master's from there. Then I came to Mansfield from Brown.
MV: OK. And you went to North Attleboro, correct?
MR: Yeah, I went back home for a year. I had to take a couple of classes before I could get into the Brown program because I hadn't majored in education, so I just lived at home, took some classes, and volunteered there with football and track, and started at Brown that next summer.
MV: Was the plan the whole time to get a head coaching gig at the high school level?
MR: No, I was really torn between going back to college after Brown. Brown offered me a full-time job, and there were a couple other things going, but I did have an interest in being a head high school coach and teaching and going that way. So I actually, really couldn't decide when I graduated from Brown, so I applied to the peace corps. I was supposed to go to Papa New Guinea for a year. I was like, 'Oh, I'll do that, and sort myself out when I come back when I know what I'm going to do.' That summer, I saw that the Mansfield job . . . I was reading the local paper, the Sun Chronicle, and saw that the coach was stepping down. He was a social studies teacher. He also coached track. It was like the perfect storm of, hey, I could step in and sort of, if I get this, I could be coaching football, track, and teach. I ended up meeting with the principal, and I ended up getting all three, and told the peace corps I had to pull out. It was just too good of an opportunity. But even then, when I came to Mansfield, I figured it would be a couple of years and then see what happens next. And then, 31 years later, I'm still here.
MV: Yeah, it's amazing. So, when you got to Mansfield, obviously there's a lot that goes into building a program. What was your first order of business to sort of get everybody on the same page. What did you have to do to establish that?
MR: I think the big thing when I got here was, I think they needed to open up offensively. I had kind of played against them and coached a little bit against them when I was at North. Mansfield always had tough kids. They always played great defense, but just very conservative offensively. So I think my background helped, because I was a receiver and done a lot with the pass game at Holy Cross and Brown. So I think that helped just opening up the offense and matching that up with that tough, hard-nosed defense. Then I think the other thing, just the offseason commitment and working in the weight room all offseason, in the summer, conditioning program in the summer. I kind of brought some stuff over from college, kind of preparing kids. I think that second year, when I had a full offseason, just that made a big difference. But I got lucky. When I came in, we had a small senior class but a really good junior class. That first year, we struggled, but the second year, we won the league, we went to the Super Bowl, we lost to Lincoln-Sudbury. But I walked into a really, really good class of juniors that would be seniors in my first full year. And that kind of got the momentum going. Whether or not I deserved it, people kind of bought into our program, because we won and we went undefeated in the league. Then it kind of got rolling from there. The program kind of picked up momentum.
MV: It had probably been a while since Mansfield had been that good, correct?
MR: Yeah, in '76 they won the league. That was their last league title. And, actually, we upset them. I was at North as a sophomore, and they ended up 9-1, and our upset actually kept them out of the Super Bowl. They were really good that year. They just had a couple of turnovers in the game and we stole a couple of points and we hung on for dear life. I think we ended up winning by one. But that was their last league title and their last shot at a Super Bowl.
MV: And you're at Mansfield, obviously at the time, it was Foxboro, North Attleboro as the real established programs . . .
MR: And Canton was really, really good in the '80s.
MV: Right. So what was it like in terms of climbing that ladder in terms of, and then in the 90s, then getting to the top there?
MR: I think the '89 season was big to get the confidence that we could compete. Then in the early 90s, we had a really good run of talent. We had (running back) Omari Walker, (tackle) Jamie Sullivan, some really good players. We ended up, I think we won Super Bowl titles '92, '94, '96. We had Freddy Vallett as a QB in '94, and then Joe Todd in '96, who played at Hofstra. So, it was funny, we were one of the smaller schools in the league and the division, we just happened to have a great core of talent. We had a really good run in the early 90s. And then, what happened, and no one planned on this, but all of a sudden, the building boom came in, and there were colonials going up all over the place. And we went from being one of the smaller schools in the league and the division to being one of the bigger ones by the time we got to the 2000s. That's where we got onto that second roll. All of a sudden, instead of 600 kids, we've got 1,300 kids in the building. And now, every other year where we're trying to compete for titles, we were able to do it year after year after year with the numbers that we had.
MV: One thing that I've always admired about your program since you've been there is you always "schedule up." You played Xaverian in the 90s . . .
MR: Yeah, and that was kind of our worst stretch. I wish we could play them in our good years, but it is what it is.
MV: Yeah, I mean them, you played Everett. You play all these out-of-state teams. Why do you think it's important for your program to do that?
MR: I think, more when I schedule those teams, our players believe that we believe in them. Hey, if coach is scheduling Everett, and coach is scheduling BC High, he believes we can be really good. Our staff believes in us. So, it gives the kids in the offseason just that confidence that the coaching staff believes in them. Just that motivation that we better be ready, because those games are early and we're playing top-level teams. I think you have to do that to prepare for the Hockomock. As good as some of those teams are, there are even better teams in the Hockomock that might not have the talent as some of those schools, but might be better coaching, maybe better system. They know you. So it's just a lot of good dividends to preparing for the Hockomock League, giving the kids motivation and confidence. And the out-of-state games are just an added thing of team bonding, going on a trip together for three, four days, and hanging out in the hotel, and that builds a lot of unity as we go forward through the season.
MV: Were there any wins along the way that sort of stick out as extra big? Maybe a Super Bowl win here, or a regular season win over a rival?
MR: Yeah, the ones I'll never forget, I remember in '96, we were undefeated. North Attleboro was undefeated, maybe had a loss. We were down, 13-0, in the fourth quarter, and we came back and won the game, 14-13, with back-to-back scores, and ended up winning the Super Bowl in '96, and I think being ranked No. 1 in the state by the Globe and the Herald. So that just doesn't happen in North Attleboro, where you come back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the stakes so high. And I think the other one was the Super Bowl at Gillette where we were down to Reading, 19-7, at halftime. You're coming back. You've got 20 minutes of game. You've only got three timeouts, and you've got to kick the ball to them. I mean, I walked into the locker room thinking we don't have a prayer. When I got to the locker room, the kids kind of sold me that they still believed. We came out and somewhat miraculously came back to win that one and win the title. So that one definitely stands out in terms of playoff wins.
MV: Do you take a certain amount of pride in the fact that you guys don't really do it with a Division I-laden roster? It's mostly just good high school players that end up at the D2 or D3 level. That's pretty impressive.
MR: That was one of the things I mentioned. We don't get to talk for too long for the Hall of Fame, but we've had some really good players, obviously, along the way. Occasionally, a Division I, but it's just that blue-collar kid that overachieves and ends up being a really good Division 3 college player. Two inches too short, not quite fast enough, but just a great high school player. And there are so many of those kids that weren't much as freshmen, but by senior year were great players and helped win us a lot of championships. I think that's maybe the thing I'm most proud of with some of the runs we've had with consecutive league titles, because winning in this league, a title every 10 years is hard enough, never mind winning four, five in a row. Really, that comes from those guys that just grind it out, buy in to the program, and just show up senior year ready to go, and find a way to win in this league.
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