Nate Quirion has always had his eye on the Mt. Blue football program — like a defensive lineman who won’t let a scrambling quarterback out of his sight.

When the head coaching job opened after Jim Aylward resigned, Quirion, 36, threw his resume on the top of a pile of qualified applicants and emerged with the job this week.

“Absolutely not looking for a job,” Quirion said. “I was very happy at Husson. I was very close with the coaching staff, the players.

“It was a great situation for me, but you really start looking around and my roots are deep in the area and I kind of always had my eye on Mt. Blue — when and if it would open — I thought that would be one of the few that I really looked to pursue just because of their football tradition and the reputation of hard-working kids at Mt. Blue.”

He also pointed out strong performances from Mt. Blue graduates like Matt Archer and Mike Toothaker, who went on to play for the Husson football program, sparked Quirion’s interest in the Cougars football program.

“Mt. Blue just seems like a special place,” Quirion said.

This is his first head coaching gig and Quirion understands he has some big shoes to fill after Aylward’s departure.

“Legendary coach, no doubt about it,” Quirion said.

Quirion played for Winslow and Waterville and graduated from Winslow in 2000. He played fullback in high school and one year of college at Dean College in Franklin, Mass.

“An injury kind of cut that short and I began coaching immediately after,” Quirion said. “I finished at Husson. I spent five years coaching there, as well. I spent the last three seasons at Husson under Gabby Price.”

Prior to Husson, he coached at Lawrence with John Hersom and was also an assistant at Bangor under Mark Hackett. He is a physical education teacher at RSU 18.

Of course, every coach has his own philosophy when it comes to the game — and Quirion is no different.

“I can only base it on the experiences I have had and the great men that I have been around,” Quirion said about his approach to coaching. “I take pieces from all of them, particularly coach Price.

“Other than my parents, he has clearly been the biggest influence in my life. I going to take those experience and in the way in which I’ve learned to do things through these great men and pass it on to my players.

“So I don’t know if I am going to do anything different. I going to do it the way I know how.”

Quirion has carried around his dream of being a head high school football coach for quite some time.

“When Mt. Blue came open, I pursued it and I was lucky enough to get it,” Quirion said. “I earned it, but I was lucky enough to get it.

“I am excited working with the young men and connecting with the players, trying to implement our system to affect culture in a positive way.

“I think football has been looked at maybe a lot of different ways — some positive, some negative — over the years. I am just a huge believer in the game and what it has done for me and what it can do for young people.

“I like to affect culture in a positive in a place that loves football like Mt. Blue in Farmington. We want to give the student athletes the best guidance over all so that they can experience success on and off the field. That’s what it is all about. Building those relationships, that’s what I am excited about doing.”

Quirion stands out

It didn’t take long for Mt. Blue athletic director Chad Brackett to figure out that Quirion was the right candidate to coach the Cougars.

“I was very impressed with his planning and preparation,” Brackett explained. “We could tell that he has been thinking about being a head coach at the high-school level for a long time.

“He wanted to be a head coach here. He was not shopping around for any job. He wanted to be the head coach at Mt. Blue High School.

“He had a good read on our history and the community. He knows PTC (Pine Tree League) football. That is invaluable.”

Quirion is grateful to Brackett and superintendent Dr. Tom Ward for giving the former Husson assistant coach the opportunity to call the shots at Mt. Blue.

“I want to thank the men I have been associated with, particularly coach Price and those men that I mention who had huge influences on me and really have given me the confidence to take this step and life change…and share from what I got from these great men,” Quirion said.

Husson University running back coach Nate Quirion has been named head football coach at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington.