BLOOMFIELD-A universally highly-regarded and well-liked, longtime coach is stepping aside from a position he has held for 36 years as Bloomfield’s Mike Carter came to his decision on Wednesday (Oct. 28) that this will be his final season as the Bengals head football coach.
Bloomfield (4-6) concluded the season by sending out its beloved coach on a high note with a 37-12 win over Newark West Side in a consolation game Thursday night at Foley Field.
However, there could still be a 41st year with the program in 2027 as the soon-to-be 65-year-old former Bloomfield player, assistant and then head coach has not ruled out returning as a member of the coaching staff.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot and I finally made up my mind yesterday that this is the route I want to take now,” Carter said when reached by phone Thursday afternoon. “I’m ready to pass the baton, but I’m not ready to give up everything as I plan to stay on and continue teaching and coaching.”
Bloomfield Athletic Director Steve Jenkins said no decision has yet been finalized concerning Carter’s successor as Bengals head coach, although he added that the hope is to keep the new coach as ‘someone within the Bloomfield coaching tree.’
Multiple members of Carter’s current staff have been former Bengal players including his son Michael, Jr., and defensive coordinator Jermain Johnson, who has previously been a head coach at three different schools (Paterson Eastside, Belleville and Montclair).
“This has been a subject that Mike has broached before on occasion and it is a seismic change for the football program and our school,” Jenkins added. “Whatever future decisions are made regarding the football program moving forward this is a seismic change involving much more than just football.”
Jenkins said that Carter sent him and high school Principal Chris Jennings a text message concerning his big decision on Wednesday night.
“We’re talking about someone who has been a fixture at Bloomfield High School for generations and has even coached grandkids of some of his former players.
“Mike is such a special person who is held in the highest regard by everyone in and out of the coaching ranks. He’s not leaving teaching and we’re hoping that we can bring him back as a volunteer member of our football coaching staff.
“Mike Carter will always bee a huge part of Bloomfield High School and the town where he grew up and raised his family.”
Carter, who finished with a 156-198 record, is a longtime special education teacher at Bloomfield High School and currently works with the in-school suspension program.
He will be stepping down from a post where he has had the longest tenure as a Bengals head football coach surpassing by one year the 35-year tenure of William Foley (1915-1950) for whom the field is named for. Foley missed a couple of years during that time while in military service during World War II.
If he does remain on the football staff in some capacity as expected he would still be involved in two sports where he was once the head coach as he has already been named as one of the assistants on new Bengals head baseball coach Jose Aponte, Jr.'s staff for the upcoming 2027 spring season.
Carter served as the Bengals’ head baseball coach from 1991-2001 and guided the team to a 1996 Greater Newark Tournament championship in the same season when his diamond squad also earned a berth in the overall Group 4 state final.
He coached two state sectional championship Bengal baseball teams.
Carter’s dad Robert was a former recreation director in Bloomfield and his dad and mom Pat raised six children, including Mike’s older brother Gibby who was an Al-Essex QB for Bloomfield in 1977.
Mike Carter played for coach Sam Cavallaro with the Bengals from 1975-78 before embarking on his collegiate playing career at William Paterson. He came aboard the Bloomfield High School football coaching staff in 1987 working for four seasons on Chet Parlavecchio’s staff before taking over the head coaching reins in 1991. His debut as head coach came on Sept. 21 when his Bengals defeated neighborhood rival Montclair when Len Rivers was also coaching his first game with the Mounties just nine months removed from the famous Montclair-Randolph showdown in December 1990.
While Carter’s Bengals have never won a playoff championship, he came very close in 2012 when his Bengals fell just a play or two short in being edged in overtime by Montclair in the North 1, Group 5 final played at MetLife Stadium.
The team’s QB that season was his son Mike Jr., the Sideline Chatter Essex County Offensive Player of the Year that fall, who unfortunately had absorbed a fractured bone on his hand before that exciting final and he was limited to just a couple of plays as a wide receiver in the contest
“The biggest thing for me in coaching beyond any wins or losses has been the opportunity through the years to work with so many different kids from all sorts of backgrounds while also forging friendships as they have also embarked on so many different life paths and professions,” said Carter. “It’s been so much fun and as my college coach Frank Glazier said: “If you find something you love to do in life then you’re are very lucky person!”
NOTES- Carter and his late wife Geri have five children, Mike Jr., Kelly, Dan, Brian and Megan…Carter will continue to work alongside Dr. Stephen Cowan and retired Caldwell coach Ken Trimmer as a guiding force in organizing the annual Paul Robeson East-West All-Star Football Classic in June…He was a member of Parlavecchio’s Bloomfield staff when the team went through the rigors of a 40-game winless streak (0-39-1) which was snapped on Oct. 1, 1988 when a Lorenzo Sozio to Fred Valese TD pass provided the only points in a 7-0 Bengals victory over Paramus Catholic…Carter, a 1979 Bloomfield High graduate, turns 65 on Nov. 21st…He is a big Yankees fan in baseball and also an ardent supporter of the New York Rangers hockey team while also having been a big fan of the ‘Honeymooners’ TV show..Bloomfield also reached the playoff sectional semifinals in 2017 in addition to its run to the N1G5 championship game in 2012.
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