Football coach Kelly Donohoe makes move from Blue Springs to Rockhurst

A couple of years ago, Kelly Donohoe once vowed to his wife he would never wear a blue tie. So many of Kansas City’s powerhouse football teams wore blue: Blue Springs South, Oak Park, Liberty, Rockhurst. Donohoe was content wearing the purple of Blue Springs High School, where he’s spent the last 20 years as the head football coach.

But on Thursday morning, Donohoe found himself sitting in front of a deep blue backdrop with the Rockhurst High School Hawklet emblazoned on top. Around his neck, he wore a blue tie — one of the first purchases he made once he was officially hired as the new football coach at Rockhurst.

But there’s more to it than the fact that Donohoe once vowed to never wear a blue tie. Not only is he preparing for a new challenge in Rockhurst blue, but Blue Springs and Rockhurst have made for one of the fiercest rivalries in Kansas City.

The switch to the other sideline by Donohoe is one that has surprised current and former Blue Springs football players and fans alike.

“Even though it’s a rival school, it’s hard for Blue Springs people to wrap their head around,” Donohoe said on Friday. “But it’ll be fine, and people will move on and I’m just excited for this new challenge for sure.”

Donohoe is replacing legendary coach Tony Severino, who spent 37 seasons coaching at Rockhurst before retiring this fall. Severino made the state title game 11 times with the Hawklets, taking home seven state championships in the process.

Severino’s retirement has been on the cards for a while now, with the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame coach hinting at retirement during an interview with the Star in January.

“It’s gonna happen at some point,” Severino said. “I’ll know when. I’ve got 10 grand-kids. There comes a time. It could be down the line. It could be tomorrow. Who knows? I’ve had a good career. It’s been a really good run.”

Donohoe, on the other hand, has amassed four state championships with Blue Springs. His accomplishments have also led to him being a part of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

The transition from one hall of fame coach to another would seem like the simple choice for Rockhurst’s hiring committee, but more of it came down to timing for Donohoe.

After spending the last 19 and a half years as both the assistant and head activities director at Blue Springs, Donohoe, 52, was ready to step down and take on a less intensive year-round schedule.

And that was when the Rockhurst job opened up.

“This is an opportunity that you can’t pass up, and it happens every 37 years at Rockhurst, right?” Donohoe said. “So I’m so excited that they had enough belief in me to bring me in and interview me and give me this job.”

Donohoe additionally had to break a mantra he’s always told both his coaching staff and his players: Don’t follow a legend.

He and Severino faced off against one another 32 times, allowing the two to build a strong relationship that arches over the rivalry between the two schools.

“Even though there was that tremendous competitiveness going into those games, I always really respected and admired how he was and how he acted, win or loss,” Donohoe said. “How his kids played and how his kids acted. For whatever reason we’ve always hit off pretty well, I don’t know, maybe because we were both born September 10th.”

Yet despite his excitement, Donohoe still had the difficult task of breaking the news and explaining the situation to his most recent group of players at Blue Springs.

“I met with the team yesterday. I’m not sure if they truly understood, to be honest,” Donohoe said. “It’s hard for 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids to wrap your head around their coach leaving them to a rival school, even though I tried to explain to them very well how retirement works and it’s the best thing financially for my family. But it’s still hard for kids to understand that.”

But now, Donohoe must put his life at Blue Springs behind him and begin his work at Rockhurst; Watching Rockhurst tape and for the first time trying to learn and improve upon the Hawklet’s play rather than how to stop them, learning his players’ names, their stories and personalities.

And it’s a challenge he must face while trying not to step on the traditions that Severino has created over a glamorous career at Rockhurst.

“I’m going to be so excited to work and coach (Rockhurst players) and be around them and build those relationships and get back on top of that mountain where we want Rockhurst to stay,” Donohoe said.

“We want to establish that mentality right away with those Rockhurst players that we’re going to do things right with every aspect of our life,” he continued. “If we do that, then special things can happen for us on the football field.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 8:06 PM.