NEWPORT — The Newport High School football program, which for years had stick-around coaches such as Bob Underhill and Larry Carle, will employ its fourth coach in six years when John Proper leads the team onto the field for the 2019 season.

Newport, one of the most successful football schools in in its class in New Hampshire, hit a bump in the road last year with a 1-8 season for a number of reasons, one of which was the decision to stay in NHIAA Division III instead of moving to Division IV, where the school’s enrollment placed it. Because the commitment is for two years, the Tigers will have to play in Division III for one more season before it can potentially drop a division.

Of course, Proper is fully aware of what he’s getting into, and he says he is ready for the challenge.

“Hey, this is a dream job,” he said. “I was ecstatic to get the call that I had the job, and I have already met with the team and talked to the kids about keeping their grades up and to get involved in weight training in the offseason.”

Proper, 41, bleeds black and orange, having graduating from Newport in 1996 and played on the 1995 D-IV state champion as an offensive center and defensive end.

Proper never got very far from the football field after graduation, as he has been involved in Newport football at the youth, middle school, junior varsity and varsity levels, coaching the receivers and doing some tower work for the varsity team this past season.

He comes in for high praise from his athletic director, Jeff Miller, who said that Proper is well-respected in the Newport football community and his teams are always well prepared.

“As an assistant to Tom Cummings on the middle school teams, when he was running the offense, he never tried to do anything too fancy,” Miller said. “If running the ball was working, then that’s what his teams would do until they were stopped. He made the other teams adjust.”

Miller added that Proper has a good sense for the game and thought he picked a lot of his game knowledge from his former high school coach, Dennis Hoffman, who tried to take the stress out of the game.

Proper doesn’t know how his staff will round out, but he knows one of his helpers will be his long-time coaching companion, Jeremy Willey, and another friend, Kevin Pollari. Proper also is hoping that Bill Thurlow, the line coach for the last 50-plus years, will once again return.

“Bill’s not sure yet, but I would love to have him,” Proper said.

Proper also knows the immediate road ahead looks troublesome, with lots of youngsters facing a schedule of bigger schools. He said the Tigers were unsuccessful last year not because of effort, but because the talent pool was a little shallow.

“We just couldn’t put four quarters together,” said Proper, whose 2019 team will be without six key graduating seniors and with many sophomores and juniors in the lineup.

“Listen, Newport is still a football town, and I’m confident we’ll get back to our winning ways in not too long a period,” Proper said.

Proper replaces Dennis Borcuk, who was the head coach for one season. Prior to Borcuk, Richard Boone ran the team for two seasons, following two years under Larry McElreavy, who guided the Tigers to a D-IV state championship in 2015.

The new head coach also is happy to hear that several players who did not play last year are going to give it a try this fall.

“Things are looking up,” he said. “I can’t wait.”