Mercy AD declines to offer any details into Doroski situation
Bishop McGann-Mercy athletic director Paul Mastronardi declined to provide any details into the surprise dismissal of varsity football coach Jeff Doroski.
In an interview Friday morning, Mr. Mastronardi — who became the athletic director this month — said he cannot discuss personnel matters.
“I don’t know what the source was that announced this because we have not made an announcement from the school,” Mr. Mastronardi said.
He did not offer any endorsement for Mr. Doroski, saying that all coaches are employed on a yearly basis.
“The football coach is employed from August until the conclusion of his football season,” Mr. Mastronardi said. “The equipment’s collected and there’s a determination for the following year once the job is posted.”
He said he did not know when the job would be posted.
Mercy principal Carl Semmler has not returned calls for comment. Mr. Doroski has declined to speak with the News-Review.
Football players arrived at school Thursday — during midterm week — wearing shirts with “Doroski” printed across the back after word spread Wednesday that Mr. Doroski would not be back as football coach. When asked what he would tell the students, Mr. Mastronardi said: “The only comment I’m going to make is that McGann-Mercy is in a very, very exciting state right now. We’ve got some really neat commitments to build a new strength and conditioning facility. We’re exploring other improvements to the athletic program. We’re looking at our sports programs very, very carefully.”
Mr. Mastronardi replaced John Lonardo as athletic director this month. He’s a longtime football coach who most recently coached the Eastport-South Manor varsity team. Joe Read, the Mercy football coach prior to Mr. Doroski, was one of his assistants.
A press release announcing Mr. Mastronardi’s hiring earlier this month described his “extensive background in local high school athletics.” It did not list any prior administrative experience.
Mr. Mastronardi declined to discuss his background as an administrator.
“That’s a personal question and I’m not answering that,” he said.
Mr. Doroski has been the varsity coach for the past three years, guiding the team to an 11-15 record, highlighted by a seven win season two years ago that matched the highest single-season win total since 1978. A 1992 Mercy graduate, Mr. Doroski is a physical education teacher in the Riverhead Catholic high school.
