Bellevue hiring Shepherd as football coach

Bellevue has found its new head football coach. Alex Shepherd is expected to be named Bellevue's coach at the Bellevue Board of Education meeting Thursday. The board meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the high school. Shepherd has most recently taught physical education and worked as an assistant football coach for four years at Medina Buckeye, a Division III program located west of Akron that has enjoyed 12 straight winning seasons. "I'm excited for him," Buckeye coach Greg Dennison said. "It's a really good job. They've had a lot of success, they have great facilities and he knows that area real well." Shepherd, who coached the offensive line at Buckeye, is a 2008 South Central High School graduate. Dennison said Shepherd's diverse coaching experience will help him in his first head coaching post. "He's had a great relationship with the kids," Dennison said. "He holds them accountable but he's really popular. He demands discipline and they like him. That's a good mix when you're trying to get kids to play hard for you." Shepherd also was an assistant coach at St. Paul in 2020. "He's a real hard-working guy," said former St. Paul coach John Livengood, who led the Flyers for 33 years before finishing a legendary coaching career in 2023. "Straight-forward, good fundamentals and technique. "I liked his coaching style. Bellevue got a good one. I'm sure he'll do a good job there." Livengood said Shepherd mainly coached linebackers and tight ends for the Flyers and also taught at the junior high level. Shepherd also brings college coaching experience to his new job in the Sandusky Bay Conference. According to his LinkedIn profile, Shepherd was an assistant quarterbacks coach at South Alabama for two years (2015-17). Before coaching at South Alabama he was a graduate assistant at Alabama-Birmingham and later coached at Kentucky Wesleyan and Tiffin University. Shepherd earned a bachelor's degree at Capital University and got his master's degree at South Alabama. Livengood said Shepherd made a strong impression in his one season on the St. Paul staff. "He's a good friend to our entire staff," Livengood said. "Our staff loves Alex. We're all happy for him." Bellevue's new hire will be just the fourth head coach for the Redmen since 1952. Ed Nasonti retired last November after compiling a 240-96 record in 34 years as head coach. Nasonti coached at Bellevue for 44 years and was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2022. Prior to Nasonti's tenure leading the Redmen, Terry Adams (1975-90) and Lowell Schaffer (1952-74) were longtime coaches at Bellevue. Shepherd takes over a program with a winning tradition. Bellevue has made 11 playoff appearances since 2011 and advanced to the Division III state championship game in 2012.