According to this article the elder coach Bill Karpinski from Elston and Rogers will be coming from Michigan and joining his son's coaching staff and serve as the teams offensive coordinator.
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STEVE HANLON: Michigan City football gets a blast from the past
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By Steve Hanlon Prep Beat | Posted: Friday, July 8, 2011 10:00 pm | No Comments Posted
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Michael Karpinski returned to Michigan City recently and remembered three things: the house at the bottom of the hill, the railroad tracks and the park he used to play at when he was 4.
Michigan City was his home because his father, Bill Karpinski, coached football at Rogers and Elston high schools in the 1960s and '70s.
"My dad told me he never would've left if they didn't split into two high schools," said Michael, who was born in Michigan City in 1968.
The younger Karpinski returned two weeks ago to take over the Wolves' football program. He replaces Eric Schreiber, who left after a 1-9 season to take over at Hammond High.
Michigan City athletic director Bob "Bear" Falls played football for Karpinski's father.
After playing high school football in Michigan and playing quarterback in the state's all-star game, Karpinski played college ball at Hillsdale College. He later coached at the University of Indianapolis for six years.
Karpinski spent the last 10 years at Franklin Central on the south side of Indy. He was 3-7 last year and 7-13 in his two seasons there as head coach.
A severe budget cut put many coaches and teachers on the chopping block at Franklin Central. When a referendum failed, Karpinski turned in his resignation.
Two weeks later, the school administration told him he had his job back, but Karpinski said no.
"I was too excited about what was going on at Michigan City," he said.
And to make the home-sweet-home story even sweeter, Bill Karpinski will make an hour-long drive this fall to be his son's offensive coordinator.
Let's be honest. We've all seen the Wolves on the gridiron in recent years, and except for 2009 -- when Craig Buzea's Wolves went 6-4 and competed with the best teams in the Duneland Athletic Conference -- there hasn't been much to celebrate.
Everyone wanted to schedule Michigan City for their homecoming game, but Karpinski expects that to change. In fact, he is demanding it.
"We have tough kids with a lot of talent," he said. "More than anything else, we want to be fundamentally sound. We want to be physical and run the football. We'll throw it when we need to.
"I believe in blocking and tackling. You can have the most elaborate offenses and defenses in the world, but if you can't block someone or tackle, it won't mean a thing. That is what I believe in."
Since Karpinski is the Wolves' third coach in three years, he's taken a few media hits about whether or not he really plan on staying. But the park, house on a hill and railroad tracks were around the home he remembers as a 4-year-old.
He and Falls plan on looking at some of the articles questioning his longevity as the Top Wolf.
"I told Bear that in 10 years, we'll pick up that article and laugh about it," Karpinski said. "I plan on making a future here. This is my home."
This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at steve.hanlon@nwi.com.