Peabody football coach Woodbury resigns

The hunt is on for a new Peabody High football coach.Dick Woodbury, who was hired to replace Paul Uva this year, has resigned the job, citing some health issues. Under Woodbury’s tenure, the Tanners finished 1-10. Uva was the head coach for the two years prior to Woodbury’s arrival, and he didn’t fare much better, going 4-6 his first year and 1-9 his second year.Woodbury could not be reached for comment Thursday night, but he has indicated in published comments that although his health concerns are not life-threatening, they did have to be addressed and as a result, he would not be able to make the full commitment necessary to coach.Peabody High athletic director Phil Sheridan said there isn’t a timetable in place yet as far as finding a replacement for Woodbury.”He’s got some health issues he has to take care of. We wish him all the best,” Sheridan said.Sheridan said he expects to sit down with Peabody High principal Ed Sapienza sometime in the next couple of days and map out a plan for a new search. Although there hasn’t been a lot of stability in the coaching ranks in the last few years (Woodbury’s replacement will be the team’s fourth head coach in five years), Sheridan said it is only the football job that has faced a lot of changes.”We’ve had a couple of football coaches over the last few years, both of whom I liked very much,” Sheridan said.Sheridan said it looks like things aren’t very stable, as far as the football position goes, but that’s not indicative of the athletic program.”Look at the rest of the (coaching) staff, and it’s people who have been around forever,” he said.Sheridan said he worries about the players and the disruption, but he’s also confident that the kids are resilient.”Hopefully, whoever we hire will be able to come in, calm the kids down and give them some confidence,” he said, adding the school is too big for the program not to be more successful.