St. Thomas Aquinas hires accomplished college player as head coach

He didn’t talk about himself.

That’s one thing that impressed Jerry Smith when interviewing Tarig Holman for the St. Thomas Aquinas head football coaching job.

“It was never about him,” said Smith, the school’s athletic director. “It was all about the team. It was about the athletes and how he wanted to enhance their years playing high school football and what he can do to help them have a great experience.”

Other things such as his high-level football playing and coaching success and his familiarity with Middlesex County convinced Smith that Holman was the right person for what was a delicate opening.

Friday, St. Thomas Aquinas announced Holman as its new head coach.

He replaces Brian Meeney, who died suddenly at age 46 on March 17. Meeney was the Trojans’ head coach for the last three seasons and led them to an undefeated regular season in 2021.

“I think it’s important to realize the adverse circumstance that is surrounding me going into a new program,” Holman said. “Obviously, coach (Meeney) really had it going over there and it’s a huge loss for the game of football and the state of New Jersey in general. But, just to look at it from the standpoint of the vision that I’ve always had, which is to help young men use the game to better themselves.

"Once you have a common goal and a common vision you can step in and help that cause. My biggest thing is I just want to be a part of something great. It’s not about me. I had my time. It’s about creating meaningful experiences for young people.”

Holman, 45, spent the last two seasons as the J.F. Kennedy-Iselin head coach and had a handful of previous coaching jobs throughout the state, including being the head coach at South Brunswick in 2009 and earlier as an assistant at New Brunswick.

If he wanted to, Holman could have plenty to say about himself. He starred at Randolph High School and then played cornerback at the University of Iowa. Against Michigan, he intercepted Tom Brady twice in one game, and was selected for the 1999 Blue-Gray Football Classic all-star game.

Holman was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2000, before an injury ended his career.

After leaving South Brunswick, he spent three seasons as Montgomery’s defensive coordinator. He then took over as Trenton’s head coach and a program that had won 16 combined games over the last seven seasons.

Holman guided the Tornadoes to a 15-6 record in three years. He then went to Randolph for two seasons, followed by heading to Neptune for three years.

Next up, was J.F. Kennedy. There, the Mustangs went 3-13 in 2020 and 2021. However, Holman was hired in the pandemic and had an atypical offseason.

Smith said he views coaching during losing seasons as a life lesson and thinks it will help Holman going forward.

Smith also noted that he was impressed by Holman’s academic record. He’ll continue to be an English teacher at J.F. Kennedy. Additionally, Holman was a successful track and field athlete in high school and Smith said stressing multi-sports was an important factor.

“He’s done everything in his life that the kids that are playing presently are trying to do,” Smith said. “So that’s going to be very appealing to my young student-athletes at St. Thomas Aquinas. They would love to play college football. Well, he’s been there, done that. Number one. Number two, while he was at the University of Iowa, he was All-Academic. Check that box because I’m a stickler on grades.”

Holman will be inheriting a team that went 9-1 last fall with several returning players. They include All-Big Central Division 2B players in Jayden Young (QB), Joel Marellis (RB), Najee Lovejoy (WR/DB), Sharief Guinyard (WR), Jack Joyce (P/K), Israel Bey (LB), Jeremiah Derilhomme (DL), Nico Tricoles (DL), Steve Coghan (DL) and Isaiah Marellis (DL).

Last season, St. Thomas Aquinas mostly played Group 1 and Group 2 schools. Now, they're moving up two divisions. Smith said the schedule includes two Group 5 schools and six Group 3 teams.

One of the schools is Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which is coached by Tarig’s younger brother Austin. When J.F. Kennedy played Scotch Plains-Fanwood the last two seasons, the game was coined the “Brother Bowl” by the family and their father awarded a championship belt to the winning brother.

To help with the transition, Holman is keeping assistant coaches Bob Turco, the Trojans’ boys basketball coach, who was the defensive coordinator and Chris Young, the offensive coordinator.

Beyond the football aspect, Smith said he looked for someone that was going to have compassion for the situation, in which the teenagers are still grieving for their beloved coach.

“I think the kids are going to relate to him, I really do,” Smith said. “He’s going to have to be on his A game, because it’s a tough, tough job. He could have gone any place else that had an opening and inherited a program that was strong already where all he had to do was do some X’s and O’s. But here he has to be not only a coach, but he’s got to be a father. He’s got to be a chaplain. He’s going to wear about five different hats.”

In turn, Holman said he wants to help the “young men rise and meet their greatest potential and use football as a vehicle to guide them to where they want to be.”

“I think it’s one of the gems in Middlesex County and the potential to be a very good program in the state,” Holman said. “… I think it’s one of those coaches’ dreams to be able to have a situation like this and I’m just looking forward to the challenges and also the fun.”

When it comes to his schemes and X’s and O’s, he said something that will please any St. Thomas Aquinas fan.

“On offense I want to score touchdowns,” Holman said with a laugh. “On defense I want to stop them. I think it’s about using what you have to get what you want. And what I mean by that is putting your players in a position to be successful. You got to figure out what it is that you do well and try to isolate those things and continue to build and develop the things that you don’t do so well and develop the young players. So, just want to help make the vision that St. Thomas Aquinas has a reality. I’m just really excited about the opportunity.”

Email: amendlowitz@njpressmedia.com

Andy Mendlowitz is a sports reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to local news throughout Central Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: St. Thomas Aquinas hires accomplished college player as head coach