Joe Gutilla, we hardly knew ya.

That's what they're probably saying around the Cardinal Stritch High School campus these days.

Gutilla, the school's athletic director, is in his second year as the Cardinals' head football coach. Turns out, it will be his last. Gutilla, 58, is moving to Austin, Texas, with his wife, Bernadette, on Nov. 19.

“It really is unexpected,” Gutilla said. “We thought we were going to be here quite a while.”

Maybe Gutilla's nickname should be “Travelin' Man.”

He and his family have lived all over the country. Before moving to Northwest Ohio two years ago, the Gutillas lived in the Columbus area for four years while Joe coached football. Before that, it was Minnesota. And before that, the family lived in California, where Gutilla coached at the University of San Francisco and also at a Division II school in the northern part of the state.

Gutilla said his wife stuck with him at every one of his coaching stops over the years, and now it's time to do the same for her.

“My wife's really good at what she does,” Gutilla said, “and I guess Apple Computers saw that and kind of recruited her away from Abercrombie and Fitch.”

Bernadette, a senior global tax compliance manager for Apple, has been living in Austin for about four weeks, Gutilla said.

“When we first got married, my aspirations were to be a college football coach,” he said. “We moved to California and...she moved with me and was still going to school and managed to get her degree.”

Gutilla said that in the last few months, his wife “started getting calls from major corporations because of what she does.” He said he realized it was time to back his wife's endeavors.

“I told her, 'you did this for me and I need to do this for you,' ” Gutilla said. “As a teacher and administrator, I can always find a job. We thought we were pretty much entrenched in Ohio. This was one of those Godfather jobs — a job you can't refuse. I'm not going (to Texas) to just play golf every day. I still want to coach. That's something I always wanted to do. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to coach down there and do something part-time.”

Gutilla said he is excited to join his wife in Austin.

“But at the same time, it's bittersweet for us,” he said. “We've made some friends here and in Columbus, and the kids and their parents have been unbelievable here. Those are the things we're really going to miss about being here.”

The couple has two grown daughters. Lisa, 33, is currently working on a project for the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi; Lori, 25, is a fitness trainer in Minneapolis.

Chad Rutkowski, who currently serves as an assistant athletic director at Stritch, will take over Gutilla's position in November. The search for a new football coach will begin at the end of the season.

Gutilla is the Cardinals' fourth head football coach in the last six years. Stritch finished 1-9 last year and is 2-2 this season.

Gutilla said his players were “surprised” and “stunned” when he informed them of his decision.

“I think they've handled it very well,” he said. “We have a large group of seniors (10) this year and they've been very understanding and really good leaders for us. It's tough when you hear that kind of news from your coach, but I told them it doesn't give us any reason to stop playing. The younger kids are wondering who the new coach will be. They want somebody in charge who is going to maintain continuity in the program.”

Father Eric Schild, president of the Kateri Catholic School System, which includes Cardinal Stritch and Kateri Catholic Academy, said Gutilla had to follow his heart.

“I firmly believe in family first and the utmost importance of marriage,” Fr. Schild said. “Joe has absolutely made the right decision to support the great opportunity that was presented to his wife. Joe has demonstrated a strong commitment to our athletic program, our schools and, most importantly, to our students.”

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