Alumni Spotlight Bill Sheridan
Class of 1977 Linebackers Coach, Detroit Lions From the time he was in junior high at St. Raymond’s in Detroit, Bill Sheridan, DLS Class of 1977, knew he wanted to be a football coach. Bill said, “When I was 13 or 14, I thought if I could be a head coach at De La Salle or Brother Rice, I would have died and gone to heaven.” Nearly 45 years later, he has fulfilled that dream of being a football coach - and then some. He’s coached at the high school, college, and pro levels, while maintaining his ties with De La Salle and the Detroit area. About a year ago, Bill returned to Detroit, and is an assistant coach with his hometown Detroit Lions.
Influential Coaches
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The youngest of 12 children and the son of a Detroit police officer, Bill always knew he would attend De La Salle. Six of his seven older brothers are De La Salle graduates. (His four older sisters are all Regina High School graduates.) Bill is quick to praise the coaches he’s had along the way. He fondly remembers Little League (sponsored by the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department) practices and games at Wish Egan Field. “A couple of Detroit police officers, Frank Kirshner and Angelo Pellegata, were our coaches. They were phenomenal. I also had George Spencer and Bob Temerowski, a graduate of St. Ambrose, as coaches. Both George and Bob had sons who attended De La Salle.” At St. Raymond’s, Bill’s football coaches were Tom and Jack Masserang, St. Catherine’s graduates, along with Bill Kemp, a Servite graduate, and Gino Paliaroli, SJ ‘55. “Tom and Jack later coached for over a decade at Bishop Gallagher with George Sahadi.” Bill easily recalls his high school coaches. “I had Rich Dobrzynski as a coach for four years, freshman
Bill Sheridan outside of his Linebackers Classroom at the Detroit Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI.
and JV football, and then for varsity basketball my junior and senior years. Other coaches were John Maronto, Mike Jolly, Ray Barr, and Paul Hayner. Paul played at St. Ambrose and then at Michigan State University, and for a short time in the NFL. They were all outstanding coaches.” Bill had football offers from several colleges, including Wayne State University. “A lot of guys from the CHSL were at Wayne, but I wanted to go away from home. I visited Hillsdale, and Findlay in Ohio.” He ultimately decided on Grand Valley State University. “They seemed to really want me the most. Even if it was a sales pitch, I bought it. The head coach Jim Harkema convinced me that I was wanted. I was very lucky to be coached by him. “All these guys were wonderful coaches who were great mentors and role models. I have been very lucky and very blessed to know them. They truly affected my decision to go into coaching.” After college, Bill landed at Royal Oak Shrine, teaching in the grade school and coaching the high school football team as an assistant to head coach Jim MacDougall. “Jim was from St. Catherine’s, and coached at Shrine for 22 years. He was a legendary CHSL coach.” McDougall is now retired.
