After an illustrious career spanning 53 years at East Stroudsburg University — Denny Douds has announced that he is stepping down from his head football coaching duties but staying on at the university.

For the final two Warriors’ games, associate head coach Jimmy Terwilliger, who served as head coach at Pleasant Valley High School for five seasons, will take over on an interim basis, effective immediately.

Douds compiled an enviable record of longevity and accomplishments. Douds was in his 45th season as head coach and his 53rd overall with the Warriors. In NCAA football history, he ranks seventh in games coached (471) and 16th in wins (264). He set the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record for career wins in 2008 and the Division II record for games coached in 2011.

Douds will take on an expanded role at ESU by assisting the ESU Foundation with fundraising activities for facilities, scholarships and needed improvements across the athletics department.

Terwilliger and Douds will share responsibilities in key areas of the football program, including coaching tactics and strategies, budget management, staff oversight and the organization, development and leadership of the football program.

Douds has won numerous awards. Among them, he was named the Kodak College Division II Coach of the Year in 1975, 1976, and 1982 and PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year in 1976, 1982, 2002.

Douds was inducted into the East Stroudsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998, the Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Indiana County (Pa.) Athletic Hall of Fame and the Northeast Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame.

Douds’ teams were in the NCAA Division II playoffs four times. The best showing was in 2005 when the team lost in the semifinal winding up with an 11-3 season. His 2004 team (10-2) lost in the second round, and his 1991 (8-3-1) and 2009 (8-4) teams lost in the first round. Two of his teams went undefeated — 10-0 in 1975 and 9-0-1 in 1976. His 1978 team had a single loss, finishing the season 10-1.

The 1982 team (9–2) won the Lambert Cup as the best Division II football team in the East.

In recent years, the team has fallen on hard times, with finishes of 4-7 in 2016 and 3-8 last year. ESU is 1-8 this year, with two games left to play.

Douds announced his decision last Saturday during the final 4 seconds of his team’s 48-35 loss to Ohio Dominican in his final home game at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

“I nudged the official in front of me and I said, ‘Sir, we are going to call a fourth timeout. I know that’s illegal, you’re going to penalize it, but that’s OK. I’m retiring,’ ” Douds told WNEP.

Douds called the timeout, told his team he was retiring, then walked off the field and right to his car.

The quarterback on the Warriors’ undefeated teams in 1975 and 1976, Mike Terwilliger, father of the new interim coach, said of Douds, “What separates him from a lot of people around the game of football is that he realizes his job is bigger than what takes place on Saturday afternoons. The neat thing is to see guys come back after 30, 35 years and see the impact he’s had on their lives.” The elder Terwilliger is offensive coordinator for the Warriors.

Douds is a native of western Pennsylvania, having attended Indiana (Pa.) High School and Slippery Rock. Douds played football for Slippery Rock University as a right guard on offense and a nose tackle on defense. He earned All-Conference, All-State and NAIA All-America honors, and was named Slippery Rock’s outstanding senior athlete in 1962–1963. Douds graduated from Slippery Rock in 1963

Douds was hired as an assistant football coach at McDowell High School in suburban Erie. In 1965, he became assistant freshman football coach at West Virginia University while working on a master’s degree in physical education there.

In 1966, Douds joined the staff at ESU, coaching tight ends and linebackers. He then became the team’s defensive coordinator in 1968. After eight years as an assistant under Charlie Reese, Douds took over as head coach in 1974. Douds is also an assistant professor of sport studies and management at ESU, one of the few coaches who hold an academic rank.

We extend our heartiest congratulations to Douds on his phenomenal career. At the same time, we wish his interim successor, Jimmy Terwilliger, a successful two games in the driver’s seat. The Warriors face Shippensburg on Saturday and Clarion on Nov. 10. Both teams are 4-5.

And while we are in the congratulatory mode, we also want to give a shout out to East Stroudsburg South High School head football coach Ed Christian, who is in his final season after 51 years on the Cavaliers’ staff, 37 of them as head coach.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com