Bethlehem Catholic football coach Joe Henrich met his players last Friday morning to announce that he was taking an immediate “indefinite family leave of absence.”

The decision came as a shock to players, as offensive coordinator, Kyle Haas, will now step into the spotlight as interim head coach moving forward.

“I will be taking an indefinite family leave of absence from coaching effective immediately,” Henrich said in a statement released last week. “I have been blessed to serve the young men in our program over the last five years.”

Henrich will continue to serve as the school’s Director of Admissions during this athletic leave of absence, but his role on the gridiron will be missed by his returning players.

“The kids took it pretty hard and it was tough on them,” said Bethlehem Catholic athletic director Chris Domyan. “We’re always supportive of Joe and as a Catholic institution we know that family comes first. We support his decision and we have the utmost confidence in Kyle with his experience. We have a great coaching staff here and everyone needs to step up now.”

Domyan was sure that Haas was the right man to hand over the keys to the program in the interim.

Next season will be Haas’ 21st year of coaching, as he’s learned from local coaches Jim Morgans, Tom Filipovits, Joe Bottiglieri and Fritz Halfacre.

He’s been Henrich’s offensive coordinator for the past five years, but will give up those duties this fall, but will still be apart of the offense.

“I feel that all of my coaching mentors have influenced my coaching philosophy in one way or another,” said Haas. “Joe [Henrich] and I share the same vision, as far as the direction of the program. Our kids are the priority and the transition will be smooth.”