Millburn High School's Head Varsity Football Coach Carmen Guarino submitted his letter of resignation to the Millburn Board of Education on Monday.

Guarino, who also serves as a physical education teacher at MHS, just completed his 12th season at the helm of Millburn's football program.

Guarino, whose resignation as coach was effective immediately, said that he was asked to step down and that the decision was not one he made on his own.

He was told of the decision after the Thanksgiving Day game by Superintendent Dr. James Crisfield, who said he wanted to give Guarino the option to resign. Guarino said he resigned because he did not want to draw it out and wanted to give the district a chance to hire a new coach as quickly as possible, so as to not affect the student athletes.

"It came down from administration, from the top. They said they want to go in a different direction," Guarino said. "Maybe they're assuming they can get more wins, maybe more participation. ...I've never been about me, it has always been about 40 kids."

Crisfield said that it was his decision, not the Board of Education's and that it had nothing to do with performance issues.

"He has been with us for a long time, and he has done great things for Millburn football. He knows football very well and is a great leader of young men," Crisfield said of Guarino. "I want to publicly recognize him for what he has meant to this football program."

The former Miller head coach was at the helm in 2002, Millburn's first winning season in more than 30 years He has had more than 90 players receive postseason awards during his tenure and also coached the Millers to their only playoff appearance ever, in 2006. He has compiled a 31-89 record in his dozen years at Millburn.

"You never want to define success with wins and losses," Crisfield said. "Maybe a change would give us the opportunity to have some more success, while keeping the good things he brought to the program."

MHS principal Dr. Bill Miron he said that the change isn't about finding a better coach or about trying to get more wins. The hope is that a change can bring some new energy and life to the program and possibly change some perceptions, he said.

"That's what you're hoping for," Miron said. "Maybe it changes the momentum or the energy. Maybe there's a signal to the younger kids who may have thought of going to private schools, that there is a change in Millburn. ...I would hate for Guarino to get criticized in the community for this or that because he has done a lot of good things for the program."

Guarino said that he hinted at his resignation during the annual Millburn football dinner, giving a farewell speech, wanting to tell his players firsthand and not have them find out through other channels.

"I wanted to make sure that they knew that I wasn't bailing ship on them, but that I was asked to leave," Guarino said.

Crisfield said that his decision was not reached easily, mainly because he knows how well liked Guarino is in town, and because of what Guarino has meant to the football program. Millburn Athletics Director Dr. Ted D'Alessio also expressed appreciation for the work that Guarino has put in.

"Coach Guarino dedicated 12 years of his life to improving the program," D'Alessio said. "The program has improved greatly since he came, I believe that the program is in a better place than it was 12 years ago."

Guarino is coming off of a 2-8 season with the Millers, but said that he had a great team coming back, losing just a handful of seniors. He has not made any decisions on what's next for him as far as coaching is concerned.

"The sad part is that this is the best team I was going to return with in 12 years," Guarino said. "It will be very different for me. I just don't know what direction I'm going in right now, I just know I have to do something to fill my time."