By RICHIE HALL
Longtime Carmel football coach John Hebert has resigned.
Hebert spoke to the Reporter on Thursday, reflecting on his multiple decades of coaching for the Greyhounds, one of the most successful high school football teams in Indiana, if not the entire country.
“It’s been 24 hours, and I’ve probably been contacted by hundreds of people, former assistant coaches, friends that are assistant coaches,” said Hebert. “It’s just a reminder of what a great network of community the sport of football can provide.”
Hebert, 54, began his career in 1993 – “when I was out of college,” he said – coaching for Clay Middle School and mentored teams at both Clay and Carmel Middle School for the next few years.
“It was fun at that age,” said Hebert.
Hebert moved up to the high school in 1998, coaching the Carmel freshman team, then became a varsity coach for the 2002 season. He spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons at Westfield before returning to Carmel in 2005 under Mo Moriarty.
Moriarty was succeeded by Kevin Wright in 2010. “I coached for him until I became head coach in 2015,” said Hebert.
The Greyhounds have had a consistent record of success under Hebert. During the period from 2015 to 2020, Carmel won no less than a sectional championship in the post-season. The ‘Hounds also claimed regional titles in 2015 and 2017, were state finalists in 2018 and won Class 6A state titles in 2016 and 2019.
“There’s only four coaches that have won two 6A titles,” said Hebert. The others are Mike Kirschner at Ben Davis (2014, 2017), Jayson West at Warren Central (2013, 2018) and Eric Moore at Center Grove, who has won four 6A titles (2015, 2021, 2022, 2023).
“Coach Hebert has been an invaluable part of our school and I have a great deal of respect for the work that has been done during his tenure,” said Carmel athletic director Jim Inskeep. “He has dedicated himself to the program and our student-athletes, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and character. I am thankful for his leadership and the manner in which he has represented the athletic department.”
Hebert is grateful for the amount of messages and support he has received since the news of his resignation went public. “Every time I get to a message and I’ll try to respond to it, and I’ve got there or four new messages waiting,” he said.
The coach said it’s “humbling and hard to really put a concrete value on,” but at the same time, pointed out that it’s the by-product of a long career.
“I’m trying to really stay in a grateful mindset,” said Hebert. “I’ve just been so fortunate to have all these experiences and know all these people and have all these great relationships with people that I really respect.”
And Hebert hasn’t closed the door on coaching again. In fact, he’s keeping that door very much open.
“I’m just not done,” said Hebert. “I feel great. Physically, mentally and I love coaching. It’s just what I’ve always loved to do. I’m going to keep myself open to the next big challenge that comes my way. I’ve already had a few people reach out. I know there’s something out there for me.”
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