New Head Football Coach Robbie Gould Meets the Media

New head football coach Robbie Gould was introduced formally on Thursday at a press conference in Cahill Gym and he described just how excited he is to lead the program.

“I’m super excited to be here,” Coach Gould said at the outset. “It’s just a really good opportunity to come and build a program with a lot of the core values I believe in.”

Coach Gould was introduced by President Ryan Aiello, who described him as the “right leader to guide our program into the future.”

“He has all the knowledge, charisma, and innovative thinking to help build our program,” Mr. Aiello said.

Seated in the audience in the Cahill Gymnasium were representatives from NBC5 Chicago, the Daily Herald, and the host of the Friday Night Drive podcast, as well as players, faculty, staff, and some alumni.

In opening his remarks, Coach Gould thanked administrators and students at Rolling Meadows High School, where he coached last season. While he had volunteered as a coach the previous year at Fremd High School, the Rolling Meadows team was his first year as a head coach.

“The kids really helped me learn about the community and myself as a coach,” Coach Gould said.

However, in coming to Saint Viator, Coach Gould said he was attracted to the idea of coaching in the Catholic League. Even before he took the Rolling Meadows job, Gould reached out to friends and mentors in the high school coaching world, many of whom coach at Catholic High Schools.

“If you’re a coach, you want to be in the Catholic League, to compete against the best coaches and teams in the state,” Coach Gould said. “The league is the most challenging in the state and potentially anywhere in the country.”

While he officially starts on Monday, January 6, and will set about hiring his staff and setting up a calendar, he already knows the core values he plans to incorporate into his program, starting with education.

“Saint Viator has a strong history of academics, with a 100% acceptance rate into college,” Coach Gould said. “I will always put education up front.”

He then listed building students into servant leaders as another priority, saying, “The quality of athletes and students here is second to none. They are leaders here and in the community.”

Coach Gould also pointed to the strong tradition of football at Saint Viator, with its 19 playoff appearances and 12 East Suburban Catholic Conference titles. 

In talking about some of the specifics of building the program, Coach Gould said he would start with the weight room: “Not many schools have a college-level weight room, let alone a dedicated strength coach on staff.”

Coach Gould also acknowledged the school’s strong alumni base. He recounted first hearing about Saint Viator from one of his Chicago Bears teammates, Brett Basanez ’01, more than 20 years ago and it made an impact then. He also fielded a recent phone call from Jarrett Payton ’99.

“He wanted to connect with me about what it means to be a Lion and about the culture of the school,” Coach Gould said. 

In closing, Coach Gould again reiterated how excited he was to come to the school. He even visited McKenna Marketplace and bought some Lions’ swag for his three children, ages 11, 9, and 6.

“I’m pretty excited to establish the culture and what we want to do,” he said. “Come January 6th, I plan to hit the ground running.”

Players stuck around to talk with the coach. Those that did said they were excited about the announcement.

“I’m pretty impressed,” said lineman Peter LaFleur ’26. “I like what he has to say so far.”

His teammate Brady Payne ’26, a wide receiver, agreed: “I’m excited to hear about his plans for the program.”