A few months ago, Tom Falzone and his wife Stephanie discussed the possibilities of moving with their children Marina, Hailey, Peyton, and Phoebe to Nazareth.

"We have been talking about moving there (Nazareth) for a while," stated the former head Catasauqua football coach. "We know there is a good school district there, and it seemed like a good place to live.

"We pinpointed Nazareth as the place we would want to end up in the future."

Late last week, that part of Falzone's future quickly became his reality.

Falzone submitted his resignation to the Catatsauqua administration to accept the head football coaching position at Nazareth High School. He was approved by the Nazareth School Board at their meeting Monday night.

Falzone will be replacing former head coach Rob Melosky, who resigned after six seasons at the helm of the Blue Eagles program where he posted a 42-29 mark. In each of his last two seasons, Melosky's teams were 6-6 in each campaign, but they were either in the PIAA or Eastern Conference playoffs five of the six years.

Melosky's sudden resignation occurred in late January, and high school officials reached out to Falzone soon after.

After contemplating accepting their offer for several weeks, Falzone believed the timing was right to make the move to the northeast.

Yet, it was a heart-wrenching one. He leaves with an overall 47-18 record over five seasons along with a pair of Colonial League titles and a District 11 Class 2A championship. In four of his five seasons, Falzone's clubs were in the postseason.

Before he took over the job, the Roughies' football program was in a state of flux, having three consecutive losing seasons and an overall 11-22 mark. Their last winning season was in 2005 when they went 7-4. In Falzone's first season, his club went 8-5 and went to the District 11 2A semifinals, losing to Northern Lehigh 20-17.

"Coach Falzone and his staff did a fantastic job leading our football program the last five years," said Catty athletic director Tom Moll. "It's impossible to put into words what he has meant to our student-athletes, our school and community."

For the 1996 Roughie graduate who admittedly bleeds brown and white, it will be a working transition.

"It is bittersweet, very bittersweet," said Falzone. "I loved it here. I can't say enough of the support from everyone from the fans to the administration. Working for a guy like (athletic director) Tom Moll and his staff has been outstanding.

"We have worked so hard over the past five years to bring this program along. We all put our heart a soul into this, and we were truly like a family. It really was one of the hardest things I ever had to do when I told the players. It really was difficult.

"But this makes sense right now for me and my family. This (Nazareth) is the place where we wanted to live and it is a better situation for us financially. Overall, it was the right decision for my family, and that's why I am doing it."

Being back in the Lehigh Valley Conference (LVC) is nothing new for Falzone. Before he accepted the job at Catasauqua, he was an assistant for six seasons at Whitehall. Even though Nazareth is larger than Catasauqua, it still is the smallest school in the LVC. His Catty teams beat LVC member Northampton the past three seasons in their annual Thanksgiving Day battle.

"I know there is strong support for their teams there," said Falzone of his new position. "I think of it (Nazareth) as a bigger Catasauqua. But there will be more numbers there. The people of Nazareth take their athletics seriously and will expect us to do well. We'll bring our same work ethic there. I also know about the LVC and the competition will be a challenge. We will have a battle every week and I'm excited about it."

Fortunately for him, Falzone won't be making the trip alone. He will bring his entire staff with him to Nazareth, possibly without veteran coach and former Catty head coach Ed Csencsits, who hasn't committed to him.

"One of the stipulations for me coming (to Nazareth) was being able to bring my staff," said Falzone. "When I told them, they were all behind the move. We are all very close and we understand the importance of keeping everyone together.

"Csencsits hasn't told me if he is coming. He (Csencsits) thinks this is it. He has been talking about retiring the past two years, but we have talked him out of it. We'll see."

As for the current state of the Roughies, Falzone believes the program can continue to maintain its status despite losing the core of players who helped them lose one regular season game over the past two years.

With the team apparently in a rebuilding mode, Falzone downplayed the fact that it was part of his reason for leaving.

"No, that wasn't it," he said. "They will have a good group of seniors back and there is a good group of young kids on the way. I know there were already kids working out for next year. It really wasn't a factor for me leaving. It would have been a different approach next year, but we would have have had a good group of kids back."

Like he did in the offseason at Catasauqua, Falzone is anxious to meet and greet his new players and begin to implement some of his programs. He indicated mini-camps could begin after the spring sports.

Falzone, who is a teacher in the Whitehall School District, has also discussed the possibility of teaching at Nazareth.

"We know we have a lot of work to do and we're anxious to get going," said the always optimistic and effervescent Falzone. "It is always nice to be in the building with your players. I welcome the challenge, but I'll always have Catasauqua with me. If there is anything I can do for them (Catasauqua), I'll do it for them."

For the past five years, Falzone has certainly done his share for the Catasauqua faithful.