Schulte Steps Down But Stays A Big Part of RFH Football

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Jeremy Schulte was approved as the next RFH head football coach at the district’s school board meeting Apr. 26. Rich Chrampanis

By Rich Chrampanis

RUMSON – The changing of the guard can send shockwaves through a football program, especially when the team has enjoyed tremendous success. But at Rumson-Fair Haven, the Bulldogs football players will see a new head coach but plenty of familiarity.

Jerry Schulte has stepped down as the Rumson head football coach but will stay on the staff as the defensive coordinator swapping positions with his son Jeremy who takes over as head coach after spending his coaching career as an RFH assistant. 

Jerry Schulte was a long-time defensive coordinator at Rumson before stepping in as the head coach, compiling an impressive 50-15 record over six years that included two NJSIAA state sectional titles, a win in the first South Group 3 Bowl Game at MetLife Stadium, along with two Shore Conference divisional titles. In all, Schulte was the head coach for three teams (Mater Dei from 1980-84, Wall from 1990-99 and RFH from 2016-21) compiling an overall record of 109-64-1. 

While Jeremy takes on the duties of head coach and everything that goes with it beyond the X’s and O’s, Jerry will return to what he loves the most about coaching.

Jerry Schulte had a 50-15 record in six years as Rumson’s head football coach. Rich Chrampanis

“My favorite time at practice is when I coach the linebackers,” Jerry told The Two River Times in 2020. “Other than that, I’m just the CEO. I just walk around and make sure everybody is doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”

The elder Schulte will continue to do what he loves and now watch his son take the reins of one of New Jersey’s most successful public school football programs.

“It’s just nice to be able to work with him,” Jerry said. “Not every parent gets to work with their kids. I feel very fortunate that I get to spend two or three hours a day with him. I’m just proud of him.”

“I know people – they may not talk to their parents for a few weeks at a clip,” Jeremy said. “As you get older, things get busy and you start to live your own life. During the season I see him every day. In the offseason I talk to him two to three times a week. It’s really awesome. It’s something I’m happy I’m able to do.”

When you first see the headline that someone is “stepping down,” it usually marks the end of an era. But for the Schultes, the roles may be different but the legacy lives on at Rumson-Fair Haven.

The article originally appeared in the May 5 – 11, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.