Todd Casebier has been to his fair share of Colorado towns to coach football. Coming from the likes of programs such as Palisade, Montrose and Fruita Monument, traveling more or less comes with the territory.
His latest stop – which has turned out to be the last in his storied career – was in Durango, the same team where his coaching career began, as an assistant, in 1991. He led the Demons to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the Class 3A football semifinals.
But now it’s time to step aside. After evaluating his time as a teacher and a head coach, he’s decided to move on to the next stage of his life and retire from coaching football.
“I just finished my 25th year as a head coach and 32nd year in education,” Casebier said. “It’s time to go do something else. I loved [coaching] and put my heart and soul in it. I felt like it had gone well, but it’s time to turn the page.”
Casebier retires with a record 221-78 and led two teams to state championships. He won his first while the head coach of the Palisade Bulldogs in 2003 and then won the 3A Season C state championship with Rifle in the spring of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perhaps one of the signature qualities that Casebier brought to coaching was his ability to rebuild struggling programs and turn them in consistent winners. That was the case when he wen to Montrose, Fruita Monument and Castle View. All three programs were struggling when he got there and winning when he left.
“When you’re talking about the rebuilds, the first thing is to let the kids and the community know that there’s a plan,” Casebier said. “It helps to have a resumé in that regard and that’s what helped me in all three of those places.”
His first head coaching job on the front range came at Castle View where he setup shop for three seasons. He had the unique honor of coaching the Saber Cats during the fall football season of 2020 before taking the Rifle job for the spring 2021 season.
He coached in two COVID football seasons, but won a state championship in one of them.
It’s a distinct memory he’ll keep from his coaching tenure, but far from his only one. Like all coaches, he has developed friendships throughout his career and he’ll always remember the kids that grew through his programs and came out the other side better human beings.
“I’ve been lucky everywhere I’ve been that you get some lifelong friends,” he said. “I’m thankful for that. And you have all the kids that you remember and bump into from time to time. I’m proud of the fact that I was able to be a part of so many lives for kids and coaches.”
Casebier’s win total puts him in the top 20 of all-time wins in Colorado. Every one of them came at the effort of having a positive impact for six different football programs throughout the state.
