Ozaukee football gets new coach

He doesn’t know exactly how it’s going to work, but Michael Schatz will lead Ozaukee High School’s football team this season.

Schatz brings experience from coaching, either as defensive or special teams coordinator, in three different states to the Warriors.

Schatz has coached in North Carolina, Illinois and Indiana as an assistant or junior varsity head coach.

This is his first varsity head coaching job.

“I’m really excited about it, especially now that we’re probably going to play,” he said.

Schatz was hired before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and met with his players once before school was closed due to Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order.

Schatz grew up in Chicago and played defense for his entire football career.

He remembers making his first big hit in fifth or sixth grade on a team his father coached.

“It was a fun team and I enjoyed football before then, but that was the year I decided, if I could, I would play college football,” Schatz said. “I was just hooked.”

That plan got moved aside early in high school.

“Honestly, I thought I was going to be a wrestler my freshman and sophomore years. Then I hit a growth spurt,” Schatz said.

He played defensive back in high school and safety for one year at Valparaiso University in Indiana before he bulked up and moved to middle linebacker.

At Ozaukee, Schatz plans to run a hybrid 4-2-5 defense.

“Defensively, I believe in multiple looks up front and a lot of movement from the defensive line — stunts, different fronts and shifting,” he said.

Schatz remembers the most fun from his playing days was when he was part of an aggressive defense.

“Honestly, it’s all about finding ways for the kids to just have fun and give them the best experience possible,” he said.

Offensively, Schatz brought in a coordinator who likes multiple formations and will suit the plan to the team’s talent. He expects to run many two-back looks to play to the Warriors’ strengths.

Schatz just completed summer contact days in which he introduced his system to the players.

“It was a lot of teaching,” he said, “getting to know and feel more comfortable with what we’re doing this year.”

Since Schatz is from Chicago, his professional football allegiance hasn’t changed since he was a child. Chicago Bears Mike Brown, Charles “Peanut” Tillmann and James “Big Cat” Williams were his favorite players growing up.

“I constantly wake up in the middle of the night fearing what Mitchell Trubisky is going to do this year,” he said.

Schatz, a history teacher, will work at Ozaukee High School in some capacity this year.

His family recently moved to Oak Creek for his wife’s job. She is a meteorologist for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin, and one storm prediction already shut down one of her husband’s practices. Schatz texted her about holding a contact day outside and received a response — “Not happening.”

Schatz replaces Jim Lippe, who is taking a year off from coaching after leading the Warriors to the playoffs in nine of his 10 years at the helm.