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Lye, who taught at Derby last year, took over the Huskies program in 2006 after an assistant coaching stint at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey. Lye replaced Bo Potter and compiled a record of 8-12 over two seasons in the Pequot Conference.
Morgan went 5-5 a year ago with just 22 players on the roster. Signature wins included a victory over Valley Regional and a 20-15 Thanksgiving Day win over Old Saybrook-Westbrook in what was Lye's final game.
"Last year was one of the hardest but also one of my favorite years coaching," said Lye, a Morgan alum who played football for Mike Underwood. "We went 5-5 with 22 kids and that's something that they can't take away no matter what anybody says. I'm proud of a lot of the things we accomplished in those two years but I'm exceptionally proud of that (5-5). There are a lot of good kids on that team and I'm going to miss them a lot."
Morgan has a proud football tradition. The Huskies won the Class SS state championship in 1987, defeating Berlin, 3-0. Morgan also reached the state championship game in 1990, suffering a heartbreaking, 32-26, overtime loss to Sacred Heart-Waterbury.
Lye addressed the issue of the recent low numbers in the program.
"A school that size shouldn't have 22 players," Lye explained. "North Branford has 60 and Haddam-Killingworth has about 80. There's going to be a couple of lean years here with the numbers. That needs to change for the program to succeed."
Lye and his wife, Christina, became the proud parents of a baby girl last April and that, along with the long commute from Newtown, factored into his decision to leave the Huskies.
"It made the decision a lot easier...just to be able to be around more often," said Lye, who teaches English. "It made the transition a lot easier."
"This was certainly unexpected," said Morgan athletic director George Braun. "It was a family decision and I think Rick made the right choice. But now we have to scramble to hire someone."
The Huskies begin conditioning drills on Monday, August 18.
Anyone interested in the Morgan head football coaching position should contact Braun at 860-664-6530.
