Barely a month ago, Paul Jacobson stepped down as head coach of the Miners’ varsity football team after 25 years at the helm.

And now on Monday evening his predecessor, Dick Koski, died at the age of 83.

Koski had an even longer tenure than Jacobson as the head coach of Negaunee varsity football, holding the position from 1968 to 1999 — 32 years in all.

That included Jacobson’s playing days in the mid-1980s for the Miners. After playing football and graduating from Central Michigan University, “Jake” came back to Negaunee and was an assistant coach under his mentor for several year before taking over the head coach’s position in 2000.

The late Dick Koski, left, coaches a Miners football player closer to the start of his tenure that lasted from 1968 to 1999 in Negaunee. (Photo courtesy Negaunee Public School Facebook page)

“It was a real privilege to play for Coach Koski,” Jacobson said on Friday afternoon. “He showed the passion, the dedication and the commitment to the sport and to the people around him.

“To be able to coach with him, it was special. I really got to see up-close how much he truly enjoy coaching Negaunee Miners football.”

Jacobson also said he hadn’t made the connection before that he and Koski had an unbroken string of 57 years of coaching the Miners’ teams.

“When you’re part of something special, you get so involved in it, I never even thought about something like that,” he said.

Koski compiled a record of 211-113-1, which included several years at Ontonagon High School, and was 208-96-1 at Negaunee, according to the schools’ Facebook page.

The Miners reached their pinnacle in 1991, when they were state runners-up after going all the way to the Pontiac Silverdome before losing a heartbreaking 14-8 decision to Battle Creek Pennfield in the Class CC state championship game.

His teams also won 10 conference titles, made nine appearances and won four regional championships in the MHSAA playoffs, and had three undefeated seasons, according to his obituary appearing in Thursday’s Mining Journal.

He served many roles beyond just football in the Negaunee Public Schools, however. He was a teacher, also beginning in 1968, and was an assistant principal and athletic director, along with coaching the track and field teams, where his Miners won an Upper Peninsula championship in 1985.

The Negaunee schools’ Facebook page honoring his induction into the NPS Hall of Fame in 2020 summed up much of his influence at Negaunee:

“The lasting impact that Coach Koski made on Negaunee Public Schools comes from the precedent he set for athletes to persevere despite adversity, a valuable lesson that can be carried over to any aspect of life.

“His former players attest to the determination and commitment that Coach Koski brought to the game, and proudly boast that they belong to the Coach Koski era of Miner football.

“There is an unspoken kinship among them and the memories of their time under his leadership share a common theme of tenacity.”

Jacobson mentioned that the entire football coaching staff at Negaunee had played for either Koski or himself.

“It just goes to show that you’re part of something special when you come to Negaunee,” Jacobson said.

Koski was born on May 17, 1941, in Wakefield and graduated from Wakefield High School in 1959, earning a dozen varsity letter as an all-state athlete in football, basketball and track and field.

Koski then came to Northern Michigan University in Marquette to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees there, also playing his same three high school sports for the Wildcats.

He was good enough to sign as a free agent with the American Football League’s Boston Patriots — the forerunner to today’s New England Patriots in the NFL — before injuries forced him to give up that dream.

Koski earned many awards and honors, including being inducted into the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame, NMU Sports Hall of Fame and both the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Charlotte Koski, a son and daughter, and six grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled for noon to 2:45 p.m. today at the Negaunee High School Auditorium, with funeral services there set for 3 p.m. conducted by the Rev. Bre Kinnunen of Immanuel Lutheran Church, where Koski was a devoted member.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 552. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.