Jeff Schaum steps down as football coach at Kirtland Central

• Broncos went 5-6 in Schaum's one season as head football coach
• Kirtland Central was eliminated from Class 4A playoffs after first round loss on the road at Silver
• Schaum took over the job from Greg Jenks, who'd been head coach at Kirtland Central for five seasons

KIRTLAND — Jeff Schaum has officially stepped down as Kirtland Central High School's football coach, according to the school's athletic director.

In a letter sent to the school this week, Schaum formally stated his intent to step down.

"Coach Schaum has officially resigned as Head Football Coach at Kirtland Central High in order to pursue other coaching opportunities," read the letter, according to John Zecca, the school's athletic director.

In one season as head coach of the Broncos, Schaum went 5-6 overall and 3-1 in District 1-4A. The Broncos nearly won the district title, narrowly losing to Bloomfield 34-29.

Schaum took over the Broncos program at the conclusion of the abbreviated 2021 spring football season, replacing Greg Jenks, who'd manned the program for five seasons achieving a record of 33 wins and 25 losses.

In one season as head coach of the Broncos, Schaum went 5-6 overall and 3-1 in District 1-4A. The Broncos nearly won the district title, narrowly losing to Bloomfield 34-29.

The Broncos were eliminated in the first round of the state 4A football playoffs, losing on the road to Silver by a final score of 40-9.

More:Stovall steps down as Aztec High School football coach

Schaum took over the Kirtland Central program after coaching one season at Newcomb, where he was winless in four games during that abbreviated season, which was drastically altered due to the pandemic which shut down the originally scheduled 2020 fall campaign.

More:New coach brings high expectations to Kirtland Central football

Prior to that, Schaum had coached in Florida, where he achieved a great deal of success, earning a 47-45 record overall that included stops at Jefferson County and Lakeland Victory Christian, where his team reached the postseason three straight times between 2009 and 2011.

More:Live Blog: Kirtland Central (5-4) at Bloomfield (8-1)

Schaum started his coaching career working as a graduate assistant at Florida State University, learning from Bobby Bowden, who spent more than 30 years coaching the Seminoles and is considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.

Schaum becomes the second area high school football coach to step down from their job in as many weeks. Aztec High School recently announced that Eric Stovall was resigning from the head coaching position after just two seasons on the job.

Repeated attempts to contact Schaum for more details have gone unanswered. 

Steve Bortstein can be reached via email at SBortstein@Gannett.com, via Twitter @DTSBortstein or on the phone at (505) 635-2680.