Verona H.S. names former NFL assistant Tony Sorrentino its new football coach

Verona High School has hired Tony Sorrentino as its next football coach, the school released Tuesday night. In a press release obtained by NorthJersey.com, the Hillbillies will be led by the former NFL assistant head coach. Sorrentino served as the Assistant Wide Receivers Coach and Offensive Quality Control Coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 to 2016.

Most recently, Sorrentino joined Butch Davis as an assistant coach with the University of Tennessee in February 2017.

In the press release, signed by Verona Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rui Dionisio, Sorrentino "possesses a genuine appreciation for the mentors who have helped shape him into the person and coach he is today. His focus will be to positively impact our students."

Sorrentino has previous experience as a quarterbacks coach, offensive quality control coach and passing game coordinator at the collegiate level for the University of Miami, University of Minnesota and locally at The College of New Jersey.

Sorrentino will not wait until the fall to make his Hillbilly coaching debut as he will also serve as the junior varsity boy's lacrosse coach for Verona.

The Hillbillies finished 6-4 overall in 2017, winning its final five games. The last of those games was a 28-14 victory over Newark Central in an NJSIAA regional crossover game on Nov. 9.

Former coach Lou Racioppe was placed on a leave days after the Glen Ridge game following complaints by parents and an investigation by the school asked players about conduct regarding the head coach. According to the results of the survey, over 60 percent of active players reported Racioppe or his assistant coaches grabbing their face masks inappropriately, pushing players past exhaustion and reprimanding players for coming out of practice when they were in pain.

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Ray Bowes stepped in as interim head coach for Verona and saw the Hillbillies win its final four regular season games, narrowly missing the state playoffs. Lyndhurst edged Verona by winning a tiebreaker for the eighth spot in North 2, Group 2. Verona defeated Newark Central to end the season and give Verona its first five-game winning streak since 2015.

Racioppe was the all-time wins leader at Verona, at the helm of all four of Verona's state sectional championships. Most recently, Racioppe oversaw undefeated championship teams in 2014 and 2015 that went a combined 23-0.