St. Paul promotes Chris Doughty to head football coach

NORWALK — There is no getting around the obvious. Chris Doughty knows what he is walking into, and there will be enormous pressure and bumps in the road. "It's an absolute honor to be in this position," Doughty said. A 2009 St. Paul graduate, Doughty was hired as the new varsity head football coach on Wednesday, the school announced. Doughty is the 14th head coach at the school, and is following his former head coach, John Livengood, and his legacy. Livengood retired on Dec. 8 after 33 seasons at the school, which included a 310-87 record, 22 Firelands Conference championships, 25 playoff appearances, eight regional titles and one state championship. Doughty has been around the program for 14 of those 33 seasons as a player and an assistant coach, and grew up closely watching several more seasons as a kid. "As a former player and coaching under him for 10 years, he's someone I have a ton of respect for," Doughty said of Livengood. "He's been a mentor for me for the last 18 years since I was a freshman in 2005. "It's an honor, more than anything. But he got me into coaching as well, and the reality is there is no replacing John Livengood." That being said, Doughty believes he's going into a strong situation despite the huge shoes to fill. "I think what you can do is build a team of coaches that are highly motivated and pay attention to detail and work well together," he said. "They come up with game plans to take advantage of things. The reality is, John already created a staff like that — and it's a staff I'm basically inheriting. "I don't have to go out and find a bunch of guys to fill out a staff, so that makes a massive difference in how we plan and attack things. It maintains a big level of consistency, whether it be just the terminology we use or the plays we run, there is a certain level there that makes the transition a lot easier. I'm not John, but at the end of the day, I think my goal is to have a product he's proud of as a former player and coach." Doughty was a three-sport athlete from 2006-09, participating in football, wrestling and track and field. In football, he was a three-year letter winner, a team captain and an All-FC second team selection at offensive tackle, where Livengood also served as his position coach. Doughty was a state placer in wrestling, finishing fifth at 285 pounds in 2009. He still ranks second all-time in career pins (82) at the school. After high school, Doughty attended Heidelberg University and served as an assistant coach at Tiffin Columbian High School under another Hall of Fame coach, Steve Gilbert. He returned to St. Paul where he served as an assistant junior high coach in both football and wrestling. In 2012, Doughty moved up to the varsity level in football where he served as the defensive line coach under Livengood. During that time, he also served as the special teams coordinator. As a player, Doughty was a part of three FC championship teams and one regional title team from 2005-08. As a coach, he has been a part of nine FC titles, two regional titles and one trip to the state championship game (2014). Being a part of the 15 weeks in 2014 that culminated in Ohio Stadium was an early spark for Doughty's head coaching aspirations. "It was only my third year in coaching," he said. "But just being part of something special like that and seeing the community react the way they did to a big game, and actually being a part of something like that, working together as a coaching staff was special. "You spend a lot of time together. I think being in that environment kind of sparked the interest in how far I want this to go. That started the thought that, down the road, I could see myself in that kind of position." From 2012-20, Doughty was also the junior high wrestling head coach. He spent two years across town as an assistant football coach at Norwalk in 2021 and 2022. Doughty is currently in his fourth year of teaching as a fifth-grade intervention specialist for Norwalk City Schools. "Chris is a St. Paul guy," Livengood said. "He understands and is ready to take on the responsibilities that go along with being the head football coach at St. Paul. I have watched Chris develop as a young freshman to being a dominating lineman and a great leader of his teammates. I have watched Chris develop into a great coach."