Calling it a career

Grant Zgunda has had a storied career.

After 27 years, a state finals appearance, two trips to the semi-state, six sectional championships and a final four seasons leading the Patriots he’s decided it’s time to hang it up.

After notifying the Jay County High School athletic department on Monday, Zgunda officially submitted his letter of resignation as the JCHS football coach on Tuesday prior to his retirement from teaching at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

“When I came to Jay County, I remember the interview and I remember saying ‘I’ve got about four to six years left in me in education,’” Zgunda said. “This is the fourth year, so I’m going to go ahead and get out of everything. It has nothing to do with any kind of giving up or whatever, it was just kind of a part of the plan all along. It’s time for me to spend some more time with my family. I’m going to retire from education at the end of the year, so that’s the reason.”

Zgunda began his career as an assistant coach in the 1980s before getting his first coaching job at Madison-Grant in 1993. He led the Argylls to a 4-5 season before ripping off four winning seasons at MGHS.

In 1998, Zgunda took the coaching job at Delta, where he established his legacy. During his 18-year tenure, he led the Eagles to a 169-45 record and seven Hoosier Heritage Conference championships. During his time at DHS, the Eagles won six sectional championships (2000, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2015) and made it all the way to the state championship in 2001. Delta never had a losing season under his guidance, with the worst season coming in at 6-4 in 2013.

He then took a break from coaching for five seasons and stepped into the athletic director role at DHS. Zgunda returned to coaching in 2021, when he took the job leading the Patriots. (He is also a physical education teacher at JCHS and will retire from that position at the end of the school year.)

Through four years with Jay County, Zgunda had a 12-29 record and led the team to its first sectional win since 2017 with a 42-7 victory over Bellmont this past season. The Patriots’ best season under his tenure came in 2023, as the team finished 4-6.

“He’s spent the last several years coaching us, being a part of our team and overall done a phenomenal job,”  said JCHS athletic director Alex Griffin. “Everyone I talk to – I’ve only been here this year – but as I look back, or you talk to families, general patrons or those tied to the administration, it’s obvious that our boys have continually improved.

“I was talking to coach yesterday and when he looks at the team coming up next year he’s like, ‘We’re in a good spot.’ He’s not walking away leaving nothing … I think that was good for him to know and important for him to know and that just speaks volumes to his character. That’s why he’s a hall of fame coach.”

Griffin currently plans to post the position sometime in the month of December, but the school will wait for the new year so the new school board members can join the process before the search gets serious. (Jon Eads, Chad Towell and Aaron Clark were elected to Jay School Board in Tuesday’s election. For more on the election, see page 1.)

When reflecting on his time at Jay County, Zgunda mentioned his appreciation for the opportunity to lead the Patriots as well as his wish to have found more success during his tenure.

“I just want the Jay County Community to know that I’m thankful for the opportunity to be there for four years,” Zgunda said. “It’s been tremendous between the turf field and new facilities and people are hungry there for winning football. …

“I feel bad that we weren’t able to get more wins. I wish I would have been able to help that happen. I don’t know that there’s any blame there for anyone. Our players worked extremely hard and we had some close games where we weren’t able to get the win. But we also had some big wins like at Huntington and Woodlan last year. We could have beat Kokomo last year, so there were a lot of games we were right there.

“I feel positive about it. I know a lot of people won’t see it that way, but our kids played hard. The main thing for me is that I feel bad for them that we weren’t able to get more wins.”