Mount St. Joseph certainly took their time replacing head football coach Chip Armstrong, who retired in January after five years at the school. While many coaching vacancies are filled them by late February, the Gaels waited until the end of March before naming Armstrong's successor.

Ultimately, they settled on Blake Henry, a 30-year-old assistant from Loyola Blakefield.

"We were looking for a quality person who has a sense of the mission of our school and has a sense of where football falls within the overall [mission] of the school," Mount St. Joseph athletic director Paul Triplett told the Baltimore Sun. "We were also looking for someone who would be a good role model for the young men."

Henry is an interesting hire considering he has just four years of coaching experience. However, he spent those four years (2005-2009) learning from Loyola coach Brian Abbott, widely regarded as one of the best coaches in Maryland. In that time Henry, who was the offensive line coach and defensive coordinator, learned how to run a successful program. He also became familiar with the stiff competition in the MIAA A-Conference, including Mount St. Joseph, a Loyola rival.

Henry graduated from Loyola in 1998, becoming a high school All-American at guard in the process. He spent a year at Northwestern University before transferring to Wake Forest, where he also played guard.

He graduated in 2002 and was offered a tryout by the Atlanta Falcons. But Henry didn't make the cut, forcing him to find a job in the real world. Henry spent the next two years working odd jobs before taking a coaching position at Loyola in 2005.

Henry currently lives in Catonsville, which is minutes from the Mount St. Joseph campus. He has already begun his coaching duties and will begin teaching religion at the school next fall.

In late March, MdHigh's Dave Lomonico spoke with Henry about his new position:

I'm excited and nervous. Excited because I've wanted to be a head coach for the last few years, but nervous because I know there's a lot to do to prepare for next season and not a lot of time.

I definitely do. I'm a guy who eats, sleeps and breathes football. It's in my blood. My uncle is a coach at Dulaney, I had a long career in the game, I learned a lot from Coach Brian Abbott at Loyola, and I think kids respond well to my style. I don't think my age will be a factor at all.

I got over that real quick because I really wanted to be a head coach. Now, I wouldn't work at every MIAA school because of the rivalries, but St. Joe is a school that I respected and a place I always thought I might coach at. So I don't really think about it being a Loyola rival anymore. I'm just looking forward to the opportunity and getting a season under my belt.

Right. I'm obviously familiar with the conference, and in my opinion, it's the toughest league in the state. I enjoy the rivalries between all the schools and how well the schools know each other's styles. I look forward to competing with all the great schools.

I do wish the hiring process would have moved more quickly. But Mount St. Joe really took their time, considered a lot of candidates and made an informed decision. They felt they got the right guy, and I hope I can reward them for that.

But even though it took awhile, I still think there's time to turn this around and have a good season. Football really heats up in March and that's when I got hired. I already have a staff in place and the guys are in the weight room working out. We have a little catching up to do, but the opportunity is still there to be successful.

I came by last Friday (March 26) and had my first meeting with the guys. I got a very positive response from the guys. I was telling them about the kind of offense and defense we were going to run and I noticed a lot of guys nodding and smiling. They seemed real positive and eager. I was happy after I left on Friday.

Since then I've been back every day to watch the guys work out. After Easter I started to implement a spring workout program for the non-spring sports players.

I'm still evaluating all of them. Most of the guys I scouted last year at Loyola were seniors who are graduating. But I have met some returning players and talked with them. And just from walking around during weight room workouts I can tell there's a lot of talent here.

I do know they have Devonte Jones, who's a real good player. He had some film requests from colleges, so we sat down and talked about that. We've gotten to know each other.

It all depends on the guys. If they come to the workouts and the offseason sessions and really work hard then we got a real good chance to win right away. There's a lot of talent at Mount St. Joe. There are 1,100 boys here and many of them are blue-collar, hard-working guys. And, like I said before, I can see the there are some players here. I think we're already moving in the right direction.

I think I'm a good motivator. I'll push them hard, but I'll treat guys fairly. Players are not going to get catered to because they're stars. They're not going to get ratted on because they lack talent. They know that if they work hard and are good teammates, they'll get playing time and a chance to move on to the next level. That's what made me a success as an assistant and I think it should work as a head coach, too.

Plus, I'm a young guy. I think I can relate to the players well, as opposed to an older guy who may not be able to click with the guys.

On offense, we'll probably run some variation of the spread. It'll be a run-pass combination. On defense, I like to run a 4-3. We might go to more of an odd-manned front depending on the personnel, but 4-3 is what I think is most effective.

Coach Abbott is obviously a great coach, and the reason is because he really knows how to get a team prepared. It starts with his strength and conditioning workouts in the summer, which are effective and well structured. During practice he schedules enough time for players to develop and master their skills; in other words he makes sure they get one thing done well.

Then he's great at scouting an opponent. The main thing he taught me was how to identify an opponent's tendencies and exploit their weaknesses.

I only see strengths. This school has talented skill guys and big linemen come through every year. They had a rough season last year because of injuries, but most of the time they're highly competitive.

But I guess the challenge is to get the guys on the same page, to learn the offense, to learn the defense and be prepared for the first game. But that's at any school where a new coach takes over.

It's an honor. He has a great reputation and is a proven head coach. Every year he was here St. Joe had a top team and a highly competitive team. Actually, I was interested in coaching at St. Joe before taking the job at Loyola. So I respect him and what he was able to accomplish here. It's just an honor to try and replace him.

My ultimate goal is to recruit guys with strong character who fit the mission at Mount St. Joe and to be in the hunt for the A-Conference title every year. I think with the talent and tradition here, there's no reason we can't be competing with every team in the league, including Gillman. We'll be starting on that path as soon as next year.