Nicholls assistant Lee Roussel hired as Riverside football coach

An outstanding coach is departing an outstanding college football program to return to his roots as a head coach on the prep level in the passionate River Parishes.

Nicholls offensive line coach Lee Roussel is departing the Colonels to become the new head coach at Riverside Academy, replacing Kevin Dizer who resigned following the 2021 season.

Roussel spent seven years at Nicholls as offensive line coach for a prolific offense, where he was part of a renaissance of a program which won the Southland Conference title in 2018 and 2019 and went to the FCS playoffs three consecutive times from 2017-19.

Riverside athletic director Marty Luquet reached out to Roussel and found common interest.

“We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had two very good young coaches in Kevin Dizer and now Lee,” Luquet said. “He is a River Parish guy. We know it is a great fit. quality coach and person and we’re looking forward to giving that to our students. He has played for and coached with probably four Hall of Fame coaches. His pedigree is there. We feel River Parish football is the bell cow of Louisiana football. We are so excited about having him with us.”

Leaving Nicholls was not an easy decision for Roussel.

“I am thankful for my time at Nicholls and what Tim Rebowe did for me,” Roussel said. “I was at Rummel, in my 20’s and he took a chance on me. What he did for my career, I cannot pay him back. I learned to much from him. He is a great coach and man and it was a privilege to work at Nicholls.”

Roussel last coached on the high school level at Archbishop Rummel in 2014, where he spent five seasons, including being part of back-to-back state championship teams in 2012 and 2013. Roussel previously was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lutcher, and at St. Charles Catholic. Roussel was a fine center at Lutcher before graduating from Southeastern Louisiana.

Being a head coach for the first time and family were the primary factors in the decision.

“I’m ready for the challenge of being a head coach,” Roussel said. “It’s good to be back in the River Parish. It was a chance to come back home. My wife works here. It is where I grew up. My five-year-old and three-year-old will be here and I can be with them in school every single day. I know this place. It can be great.”

Riverside won the Division III state championship under Bill Stubbs in 2016 and has had a sprinkling of success since then but has not been able to replicate that level of success since.

“This place has been at the top and it can be again,” Roussel said. “That is why I accepted the challenge. I think our principal, Holly Haase is really motivated with a lot of energy and I am excited to get this program back to the top. Working with Marty Luquet is a real bonus. He understands coaching and understands what it takes to win.”

Aside from Rebowe, Roussel cited the other mentors in his career that helped him get to this phase.

“Coach Jay Roth handed over some play-calling to me later in his career, trusting in me at a young age,” Roussel said. “He was such a great leader and made you believe in Raider Pride, in that school. I believed I was a Rummel Raider. He was a great leader of men. Tim Detillier treated people so well and built great relationships and how he built teams in a great program.

“My first job was with Frank Monica. I learned so much about discipline, attention to detail and how to build a program. My plan is to take a little from each one of these legends and go from there.”

At Riverside, Roussel joins another legendary Rebel figure in former highly successful, long-time head football coach Mickey Roussel, who recently returned to the school in a capacity of fundraising, golf coach and facilities manager, assisting the school, football and athletics in any capacity.

“Having Coach Mickey Roussel here, who I grew up around, is huge,” Roussel said. “He built a great program and is a legend here.”

The Rebels expected to have a good team this past year under Dizer but Hurricane Ida intervened and the program lost a few key players who never returned after the storm.

“Riverside was hit with adversity this past season and the wins and losses weren’t there,” Roussel said. “We have players. We have to build depth. I just met with the team and there are players you can win football games with. We have to go to work immediately to get better with returning players.”

Roussel has hit the ground running.

“The community is excited,” Luquet said. “We’re excited about what is going on here. We feel we can get back to where we were in 2016 with Lee here. The competition is stiffer for kids but we feel strongly we can get quality kids and turn them into quality football players and great people.”