'My calling is coaching': Former Browns player Jason Trusnik to lead Strongsville football

Nordonia High School graduate Jason Trusnik has been coaching in some capacity ever since he retired from a 10-year NFL career.

So the former Browns player explained he believes it will be a natural progression for him to begin his next chapter as the head coach of the Strongsville High School football team.

“My calling, I believe, is coaching, and I've been doing this a long time for a lot of the youth in middle school,” Trusnik told the Beacon Journal by phone Friday. “I just always had that passion for coaching.

“When this position came up, I was just like, 'Man, it's a great way to get involved in the next level of coaching and bring people all the knowledge I have, but also to bring a positive culture and a winning culture and a winning tradition back to Strongsville.”

Trusnik, 39, was approved as Strongsville's coach on Thursday night during a board of education meeting, the school's athletics department announced Friday in a news release.

“More than Coach Trusnik's NFL playing experience, the search committee was excited about his ability to connect with young athletes and his experience in motivating them to become better people,” Denny Ziegler, Strongsville's athletic director, said in the release.

Trusnik entered the NFL in 2007 when he signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent from Division III Ohio Northern University.

He played linebacker, edge rusher and special teams for 10 seasons in the league, appearing in regular-season games with the Jets (2007-09), Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011-14), Minnesota Vikings (2015) and New Orleans Saints (2016). He arrived in Cleveland in 2009, when former Browns coach Eric Mangini acquired him as part of a trade with the Jets.

Keith Boedicker served as Nordonia's football coach during Trusnik's freshman and sophomore seasons with the Knights. Boedicker remembers Trusnik transforming himself from a skinny quarterback and eventually becoming a formidable defensive end as a senior.

"When he was a sophomore, I think he was about a 120-pound quarterback," Boedicker said by phone. "He just worked himself into a great football player.

"He's a true success story as a player. Playing Division III football and then carving out a 10-year career in the NFL is unbelievable. He's always been an overachiever, and I know he'll be a great coach because of that."

Trusnik appeared in his final NFL game on Jan. 1, 2017. In the midst of his playing career, he opened Pro Sports Performance gym and training center in Strongsville in 2014. Even with his new job, Trusnik said he will continue to instruct athletes at his facility.

“My undergrad [degree] is [in early childhood] education, and just between the education and coaching, I mean, that's what I've been doing for so long,” Trusnik said. “Whether it's in the gym coaching kids and adults or teaching, to youth sports and all that, I mean, this is what I'm doing on a daily basis. I love it. Beyond the sport of football, building a positive community, a positive culture, the mindset, all this kind of stuff, is something I really love to do.”

Trusnik began coaching Strongsville youth football and wrestling in 2017. Last season, he coached the seventh-grade football team.

In August, Trusnik's son, Austin, will enter eighth grade at Strongsville Middle School. Trusnik said his latest gig sets him up to coach Austin when he reaches high school and plays football for Strongsville.

Strongsville fired its previous football coach, Lou Cirino, late last year. The Mustangs went 3-8 in 2023.

School officials conducted more than 32 hours of interviews during a coaching search consisting of more than 25 candidates, Strongsville principal Bill Wingler said in the release.

Trusnik landed the job, and he's eager to lead a turnaround.

“Strongsville was very good back in the day,” Trusnik said. “I know it's here. I live here. The people are here. The community wants to support Friday night football. The athletes are here. Now it excites me to be able to utilize them the way I think they can be utilized. That's both on and off the field — on Friday nights but also in the community.”

Boedicker said he expects Trusnik to instill toughness, values and a tremendous work ethic in Strongsville's program.

"I'm very excited for him," Boedicker said. "I know he'll do great things there."

More on the Cleveland Browns: 'Myles Garrett's that guy': Hall of Famer John Randle bonded with D-end and says he's worthy of Defensive Player of Year

Trusnik said several of his former college and professional football teammates are coaches. A notable one is former Browns kicker Phil Dawson, the football coach at Hyde Park High School in Austin, Texas.

“I've been able to definitely lean on a lot of people throughout the interview process of things to expect, things to come,” Trusnik said. “These are guys that are all over the country coaching, whether it's college or high school. So it's been great to kind of learn some of the ropes. There's going to be some learning curves, but I've been able to learn from some guys that have been doing it for a very long time.”

NFL Honors 2024: Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett named Defensive Player of the Year

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jason Trusnik of Browns hired as Strongsville football coach