So why is Nori welcoming the chance to be the new football coach at Stow-Munroe Falls High School?
''I love to coach. I feel I have a lot to offer the kids, the knowledge I have gained from the places I have been,'' Nori said. ''In the interview process, someone asked me 'How will you be able to come down to their level?' I answered, 'I am not. They are going to come up to mine.' I think that's the best way to look at it.''
Nori, 36, who succeeded Marty Tinkler as the Bulldogs' coach, has a background that includes being an NFL player and coach, and being a Division I college player and coach.
''His resume sure jumped out at me, and I figured it would jump out at 16-, 17- and 18-year-old high school players,'' Stow Athletic Director Cyle Feldman said. ''We love how experienced he is at different levels. It's a great fit.''
Nori was a standout athlete at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa., being the captain of the school's football, basketball and baseball teams as a senior. He went on to play on the offensive line at Boston College, and was first-team All-Big East Conference and the Eagles' captain as a senior in 1995.
He spent parts of four seasons (1997-2000) on the practice squads of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, as a 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman. He played in exhibition games for all three teams but did not play in the regular season.
He began his coaching career in 2001 at Mount Ada College in Newton, Mass., while also teaching at West Roxbury High School in Boston. In 2002, he became an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, which is where he first met J.D. Brookhart, then the Panthers' offensive coordinator and later the coach at the University of Akron.
Nori later coached at the University of Maine and then spent three seasons (2004-2006) as a line coach for the Zips under Brookhart. After that, he worked one season as an assistant line coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
Then, he left coaching to work in sales for about 18 months.
With his family (wife Barbara and three children) living in Stow in recent years, he decided to shift his priorities by applying for and getting the job at Stow as football coach and English teacher.
''For me, it's a chance to get into coaching at a more stable level for my family,'' said Nori, who was an assistant at Walsh Jesuit last season while holding down the sales job. ''We love it. We love this area. We want to put down roots here.''
Feldman said Nori emphasized that during the interview process.
''He told us, 'I have enjoyed everything that I have done, but I want to settle down, stay in one place,' '' Feldman said. ''You have to respect that and respect his experience. It's exciting to have him.''
Nori is taking over a Stow program that has been in the doldrums for decades, with few winning seasons and only two appearances in the state playoffs (1988 and 1995). The Bulldogs were 2-8 in 2009, giving them a mark of 21-39 in six seasons under Tinkler.
Since he was hired in March, Nori has been ''very visible'' at the school talking to prospective players, Feldman said. When preseason camp opened, Feldman said he had to order 25 more practice jerseys than in 2009.
Nori understands the history of Stow football and also understands that it is possible to alter its course.
''It's a sleeping giant. It's a Division I school in a great community with great support. It has all the features in place,'' said Nori, whose team opens Friday at home against Wadsworth. ''Right now, the biggest thing I have talked to the kids about is our mind-set.
''We have to change the mind-set of being a loser, being a welcome mat for teams, so to speak. I have talked to the seniors that we don't want the term 'rebuilding' in our vocabulary. We want to win.''
One part of his plan for the revitalization process of the program is to bring four groups closer together. He sees Stow football as being varsity-junior varsity, freshmen, Kimpton Middle School and Stow Youth Football.
He has met with coaches and officials at Kimpton and Stow Youth. He said he would like them to be as similar as possible in fundamentals and offensive and defensive schemes as the high school teams.
''It was four different programs and they weren't jelling. We met with them and opened up our playbook and our doors to them,'' Nori said. ''We would like them to be a feeder program, so when the kids are freshmen, they are not hearing all new terminology and playing in all new systems.''
Nori said he understands being a head coach for the first time will be a challenge. He said he will draw on his own experiences working with the likes of NFL coaches Tom Coughlin, Dan Henning, Jim McNally and Bill Cowher.
''I have been blessed to be coached by some of he best,'' Nori said. ''I hope I can use that experience, especially as a teacher.
''My brother always tells me we have too many coaches and that we need more educators. I want to be an educator. The field should be the extension of the classroom.''
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJVarsity
