Everything old is new again.

At least in Stevensville at Lakeshore High School.

The Lancers have been looking for a new varsity football coach since the end of the season when Bryan Keim resigned. So, who would Lakeshore turn to this time to try and resurrect its football program? There were plenty of names flying around, including the son of its former coach, which Lancer fans cannot seem to get out of their heads.

But instead of going out and getting Jeff Dock, Lakeshore decided they would return to the glory years and re-hire Denny Dock, who coached at Lakeshore for 27 years before retiring in 2013. Dock has 34 years as a head coach on his resume, including stops at Dowagiac and Hartford.

At the end of each season, the Lancer faithful would lament that their team is not as good as it was when Denny ran the program. The wins and losses somewhat bare that out, but come on now, you really need to give a coach some time to build his own program.

That did not happen in Stevensville, so the fans are getting what they wanted: the return of Dock to the sidelines.

Dock is a proven commodity, and if he can get the kids to buy into his coaching philosophy, I expect that Lakeshore will get back to being one of the best teams in the SMAC each year, but one of the best teams in southwest Michigan to boot.

After all, Dock made 17 playoff appearances in those 27 seasons and won 209 games against only 64 losses. When Dock resigned, the Lancers were coming off a Final 4 appearance in Division 3. Lakeshore won 11 conference championships and had just one losing season under Dock’s direction.

I have known Denny for a long time. He has been successful everywhere he has been. The Chieftains won playoff games and conference championships with him at the helm, including an undefeated regular season in 1985. So did Hartford.

I love Dock’s intensity. He knows how to get the best out of his players. He is more than willing to adapt to the talent he has on a given squad. A lot of coaches I have known throughout the years often try to fit that square peg in a round hole.

I want to wish Denny success as he makes his return to the sidelines. And if I had my way, Dowagiac would be able to figure out how to put the Lancers back on their schedule, just as they have with the Niles Vikings.

Perhaps in the near future, the Chieftains will have two holes in on its football schedule. Stay tuned for more on that possibility.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com