Growing up in the Holy Cross community, playing there and then coaching for over a decade, the decision wasn’t an easy one for Adam Kozerski to become the next head football coach at Bishop Brossart High School.
Kozerski was announced as the next head coach of the Mustangs on Thursday.
The ultimate decider? Being a teacher at the school.
“Big thing for me was I needed to be in building,” Kozerski said. “I want to be able to see these kids during the day and build relationships in the classroom and on the field. Teaching is where the big part of my paycheck comes and I want to help these kids outside of the football field.”
It’s something his dad Bruce did for 20 years at Holy Cross while being the head coach of the football program and teaching physics and calculus.
“Dad did that and what I want to do, too,” Adam Kozerski said.
While this will be his first head coaching gig, Adam Kozerski has decades worth of a football background. Obviously it starts with his father Bruce, a Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman from 1984-95. Adam Kozerski played at Holy Cross for four years, a 2012 graduate and has an engineering degree from the University of Louisville.
He was on staff with Holy Cross since 2012, holding a variety of roles from assistant coach, JV head coach, assistant offensive coordinator, position coach of the defensive line, wide receivers and tight ends.
“I’d say offense is my specialty,” Adam Kozerski said. “I’d help sequence play calling and had a lot of conversations with my dad about the offense. He was the one ultimately calling the plays, but I feel pretty confident on that side of the ball.”
After the COVID pandemic, Kozerski stepped into the teaching field and got his start at Scott High School. He then went over to Brossart where he teaches calculus and algebra. He’s working on getting his Masters in education at Thomas More. He’s already met with the team and plans to meet with the current coaching staff soon.
“It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to be with such a great organization. Just super excited to get started,” Kozerski said.
He won’t be foreign to the Class 1A, 4th District either. Holy Cross and Brossart go head-to-head in district play with Ludlow and Trimble County also in the district. The Mustangs went 5-6 in 2023 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Dayton. Kozerski replaces Paul Wiggins, who coached the program for 10 seasons with a 67-43 record and was not retained after the season.
“Coaching against them, they’re talented with a good running back and have a good quarterback situation going,” Kozerski said. “Playing them last season they were a determined opponent. They have a spirit that I love. We’re going to be resilient, hard-nosed and give everything we got.”
Kozerski said he’d like to get spring practice, workouts before dead period and 7-on-7’s all accomplished in the coming months prior to the start of the 2024 season. He’s working on assembling his staff. Another thing that will be new for him, they’ll get to play on their own home field at the Mustang Athletic Complex.
“It’s part of my coaching and playing experience I never had,” Kozerski said. “We had to find places to find games and play home games. Credit to Holy Cross for being able to adjust and figure it out, but it will be nice to have our own facility, turf, lights and just makes things easier for arrangements. You won’t see any complaint from me about facilities.”
The first day teams are allowed to practice for the 2024 KHSAA football season will be July 10.
