Like Father, Like Sons

ST. MARYS - Doug Frye, searching for a new job after coaching football in Bucyrus, had to choose between two schools: Dresden Tri-Valley, near his wife's family in eastern Ohio, and St. Marys.

After getting both offers within an hour, he took a ride to St. Marys with his then fourth-grade son Bo to see the town.

Bo voted for St. Marys and Doug went on to coach the Roughriders 18 years over two stints. When Doug stepped down in April 2021, it was Bo who took the helm three weeks later.

"Him and I were the first two in the community," Doug said. "I remember talking to my wife, who was also an educator at that point, and I said something to Bo, and both of them said, 'I think you should take the St. Marys job.' Even though it was away from family, it just fit my personality and our personality better."

Bo played for his father in the early 2000s, including during the Roughriders' state runner-up season in 2004, before heading off for four years of college football.

Doug left St. Marys and took a year off to watch Bo and his younger son Koby play in college, then returned to coaching at Wapakoneta for a brief tenure.

In his playing days, Bo wasn't thinking about following in his father's footsteps. Only after he went to college did he realize he needed to rethink his career path.

"I went in nursing, and just didn't like sick people," he said. "I really liked football, so I went into education, and then it became something that I wanted to do."

When Bo joined the coaching staff in Wapakoneta, he saw a different side of his father and came to understand why his dad had been tough on him and Koby as players. Doug in turn benefited from Bo's knowledge of the program while helping his son adjust to working for him instead of playing for him.

In Doug's five-year absence, St. Marys plummeted, and when he left Wapakoneta in 2013, the Roughriders were on a 21-game losing streak spanning multiple seasons. By the time Doug retired after the 2020 season, the Riders had made the playoffs five consecutive seasons.

With Koby joining them at St. Marys after a stint as an assistant in Sydney, Bo and several other former players on staff and a strong senior class, Doug realized it was the right time to step away.

"Having been here all the years and seeing the program at its height, and then walking back into a 21-game losing streak, I wanted to make sure … the program when I left was on solid ground for whomever decided to take it, to continue the success," Doug said. "My wife and I are going to be residents forever, we've got six grandchildren in the community, and all three of our children live here, so in addition to wanting to see every program flourish after we leave, we had more vested interest here."

Doug offered to stick around as an advisor to the new coach, with his assistants prepared to stay on as well. When the search began, Bo decided to apply, with Doug offering support and promising to help if he got the job.

Koby, for his part, wasn't interested in throwing his hat in the ring.

"No - no, no, no, no," he recalled thinking. "I don't want that. I've seen the work that goes into it, the time my dad's spent his whole life, and I don't want to do that right now."

It took 23 days before Bo was named the new head coach with Koby as his offensive coordinator and Nick Yahl, another former teammate and the best man at Bo's wedding, serving as the defensive coordinator. The rest of the staff, almost all of whom had played or coached for Doug, stayed largely in place as well.

Doug, in his volunteer role, decided to move up to the press box on game days. He gave up the early morning meetings, but otherwise found himself subbing in whenever needed.

With one of the assistant coaches unable to make it to practice until getting off work, Doug often instructs the quarterbacks on the fine technical points of St. Marys' traditional Wing-T offense during the early part of practice. He then moves on to the kickers and special teams, or fills in wherever an additional coach might be useful.

"I try to walk a fine line by just being helpful and not interfering, which is difficult sometimes, since I've done it for so long," Doug said. "But it worked out well last year."

In his first season, Bo guided the Roughriders to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the regional semifinal, where they fell to undefeated Hamilton Badin.

Heading into his second year with his first full offseason, Bo's settled into his style as a head coach. All three Fryes agreed that Bo has a personality of his own.

"I think definitely, we're from the same thought process, how we think on football," Bo said. "My dad and I are a lot different, just our personalities. I'm a lot more laid back at times, but also have a lot of energy, tempo, that sort of thing."

After coaching together for seven years under their father, Bo and Koby have also adjusted to the new dynamic. They live a few blocks apart with young families, hang out on the weekends and mostly manage to keep work and family from clashing.

"We'll still bicker like brothers bicker, but that's just how it is," Bo said.

"It's tough at times - you think everybody else on the staff is listening, but sometimes, not always him," he added with a laugh. "But it's all good. It's just a brother thing, and we understand it. We work well together."

For his part, Koby, who played with Bo in both high school and college, was glad to continue the family tradition.

"It's kind of been natural," he said. "Seems like we've been doing it our whole lives. We've been out here since we were about five years old, running around practice, so it's been a whole-life thing."