Legendary NJ high school and college football coach Gerry Gallagher dies at 73

The New Jersey high school football community lost a coaching legend on July 24 when Gerry Gallagher died at the age of 73.

A Rockaway resident, Gallagher’s coaching career spanned more than six decades. He spent 42 years at two Morris County high schools − his alma mater, Morris Catholic, and later Montville − and had stints at the college level leading St. Francis (Pennsylvania) and William Paterson.

A physical education and health teacher at Montville High School since 1997, Gallagher was inducted into the New Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

"I worked every day with Gerry for 14 years. As a young coach at the time, I learned from the best in the business," longtime Montville football and softball coach John Immediato said. "Gerry was a friend. He would reach out to me at the start of every spring softball season and wish me the best. I was blessed to have worked under and with him. It's a big loss to the community."

Gallagher is best known for his coaching tenure at Montville, where he guided the Mustangs from 1997-2010 and led the program to the 2006 North 2, Group 2 sectional final, an 8-7 loss to West Essex.

"Gerry was all about father, family, education and football, in that order," Immediato said. " As good as a football player and coach that he was, he was a better person. It's a sad day. He'll be missed."

Gallagher grew up in Rockaway and attended Morris Catholic, where he graduated in 1969. He then attended William Paterson and played football for the Wayne-based college’s inaugural team. He played there for three years and scored the first two touchdowns in program history.

Gallagher's coaching career began at Morris Catholic, where he served as an assistant from 1973 to 1976. He took over the program in 1977 and held the position until 1983.

Gallagher’s first college coaching job came as offensive coordinator at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania from1984-85, followed by head coaching jobs at St. Francis (1986-1988) and William Paterson (1989-1996).

At William Paterson, Gallagher led the program to its first two postseason berths, including an NCAA playoff appearance in 1993. To date, he is the only WPU coach to guide a team to the playoffs.

Gallagher guided the Pioneers to three straight eight-win seasons and is the school’s leader in coaching victories with 35 during eight seasons. He earned New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1991 and 1993 and was inducted into the WPU Hall of Fame in 2009.

Gallagher's last coaching stop came at Delbarton, where he was the program's special team's coordinator from 2015-23 under longtime Green Wave coach Brian Bowers. Gallagher's son, Brian, coached at Boonton for 13 years before taking over at Morris Knolls before the 2024 season.

"Gerry was phenomenal. We were incredibly lucky to have him for those nine years. It was a dream come true to have him a part of our program," Bowers said. "His teams were always well coached. A class act and a great friend. He was loved by our entire school community. The most selfless person I've known and one of the great friendships of my life. He made everyone around him better. It's been a tough day."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Gerry Gallagher: Legendary NJ high school football coach dies at 73