Dallas Jackson

Senior Analyst

Dallas Jackson is the Senior Analyst for RivalsHigh. Email him your question, comment or story ideas to DallasJ@Yahoo-Inc.com and follow him on Twitter.

Bill McGregor, the legendary Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha football coach, has resigned his position at the school.

"I am moving on to a different phase of my life and am exploring different options," McGregor said in a statement released by the school.

"DeMatha has been great to me and my family. I cannot thank the administration, faculty, staff, and DeMatha family enough for all of the support throughout the years. I would also like to thank all of my assistant coaches for all of their hard work and dedication. The DeMatha players made DeMatha what it is today. DeMatha was a great place before I got here; it will be a great place after I leave."

McGregor, 62, has worked at the Atlantic East powerhouse for 39 years, 29 years of which he has led the football program. In his time at the helm, the Stags have compiled an astounding 280-39-3 record with 17 Washington Catholic league titles and sent more than 350 players to collegiate level football programs.

The news of his resignation did not come as a surprise as McGregor has been rumored to be considering his departure for nearly a month.

He met with his current players on Monday afternoon.

"It wasn't too big of a shock since everyone has been talking about it for awhile," said DeMatha defensive end Brent Wilkerson. "We were kind of hurt; we're going to miss him. He taught us all a lot. He really cared about us as people and not just football players."

Wilkerson went on to give the gist of what McGregor told the Stags players.

"He just said that he's moving on and he's putting coaching behind him and he's ready for a new phase in his life," Wilkerson said. "He told us he's going to miss us and that we'll be fine. As far as what he plans to do now, he said nothing is set in stone set, but he has something planned."

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell thinks that what McGregor did at DeMatha was nothing short of amazing.

"DeMatha used to be a basketball school, but McGregor made it a football school," he said. "Few coaches have consistently put as many players into D-I football over the years than Bill McGregor. I knew when I went to scout a DeMatha game I could see double digit D-I prospects in multiple classes all in one shot."

McGregor was the named the 2004 NFL National High School Coach of the Year and has helped elevate DeMatha into the upper echelon of national high school football over the course of his tenure. The school was ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in the RivalsHigh 100 in 2009.

His relationships with college coaches and media members endeared him to many.

"Coach McGregor has been nothing but a class act," Dave Lomonico, of MdHigh.com said. "As the head coach of a nationally-renowned program, he could have easily been closed off to the media. He was open and honest about his program, accommodating and treated everyone with the utmost respect."

While McGregor would not discuss the next stage of his career, he did dispel one of the hottest rumors surrounding his departure via text message to RivalsHigh.

"I am not coaching at [Baltimore (Md.)] Gilman," he said.

Sources close to the situation have indicated that he may join his brother in the real estate business, run a college scouting and recruiting service or use his connections with the NFL to work with the upstart NFL Youth Program.

DeMatha had formed a search committee three weeks ago and will immediately begin conducting a search for his replacement.

"We're going to work hard for whoever they bring in," Wilkerson said. "DeMatha is going to be OK. We just have to stick together and keep working hard."

The departure of McGregor marks the second major program to make a change at the top following the departure of Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas' coach George Smith's retirement last month.