Nick Saltaformaggio makes difficult decision to return home

Anyone who knows Nick Saltaformaggio knows that he does not shy away from challenges, people, or microphones.

That is his nature and it has served him well.

It was easy to spot at a young age, as we both dreamed of bigger things playing at Lakeshore Playground in Metairie.

Nick pursued coaching, which was no surprise. I pursued broadcasting, which was no surprise. We both talked and talked a lot.

Saltaformaggio has done a lot of talking over the past several weeks, trying to consult those he trusted to make what turned out to be the most difficult decision of his life.

At Hahnville, Saltaformaggio had a great job in an excellent school system. Hahnville has a great tradition of winning in football with six state titles. The facilities are simply superb. The fan support is rabid. The retirement benefits are outstanding. The talent cupboard is far from bare. In fact, it is very good.

Still, Saltaformaggio made the difficult decision to depart Hahnville for his alma mater, Holy Cross, accepting the job as football coach at the Gentilly school.

So why did Saltaformaggio leave such a prime job for one that some would not consider to have as many of those benefits?

“It is home and it is that simple,” Saltaformaggio said. “While I did not attend Holy Cross on the new campus, it is still Holy Cross. There is the Grotto. There is the Victory Bell. There is being a Holy Cross Man. There is tradition. There is family. Getting the call and getting me to come home was too much. I had to do it.”

Just two years ago, Saltaformaggio flirted with becoming the new Holy Cross head coach when Eric Rebaudo departed. Ultimately, he remained married to Hahnville.

“I just wasn’t ready two years ago,” Saltaformaggio said. “We had been to a state title game at Hahnville. We finally beat Destrehan. There was so much good going on at Hahnville. I could not do it, though much of me felt the pull to do it.”

In the meantime, Saltaformaggio attended many Holy Cross sporting events. His nephew, Nico Saltaformaggio, was a starter who would become a star for the Tiger baseball team. His friend, Larry Poche, had a son playing for Holy Cross. Saltaformaggio saw the facilities, the parents, the spirit of the school regularly.

This time around, the pull was too strong to resist.

“Going to games to watch my nephew and to watch Larry’s son play brought it closer to home,” Saltaformaggio said. “I felt the pull. It was in my blood. From a historical standpoint, being a guy that loves prep football and prep sports, I spouted all the coaches that have been here and it is special. It is a dream come true to be on that roster of legends.”

Saltaformaggio also has a keen understanding of the history of the storied Catholic League, a league he had always aspired to coach in.

“When you think about the great teams, the state champions and coaches, it is amazing,” Saltaformaggio said. “Lou Brownson, Gernon Brown, Eddie Toribio, John Kalbacher, Ken Tarzetti, Otis Washington, Hank Tierney, Jay Roth, J.T. Curtis and now Nick Monica. Those guys have all been legends and won state championships. I hope we add my name to that list at Holy Cross. That is the goal.”

Saltaformaggio freely expressed his love of both Holy Cross and Hahnville.

“To be the head coach at Holy Cross, where I loved it every day of the week I was here, I had to take the job,” Saltaformaggio said. “It is tough leaving Hahnville. I didn’t have a dry eye last night just talking to the people. There are so many people that mean so much to me there who were so good to me. I don’t think people realized what we inherited six years ago when I went to Hahnville. It is a great place.”

Saltaformaggio thanked his players at Hahnville and warned his future players at Holy Cross what to expect.

“It is about the kids,” Saltaformaggio said. “It is hard to play for me. I expect you to be great in the classroom and community and to work hard every day. Those kids bought in. Our record speaks for itself at Hahnville. We had great fan and administrative support. The care they have for that program is special but it is the same at Holy Cross. We strive for excellence and demand it from our players.”

Saltaformaggio cut his teeth under Henry Rando at Holy Cross, whom he still appreciates.

“I was a fan of what Coach Rando did here at Holy Cross when I was here,” Saltaformaggio said. “I will always appreciate what he did for me. I was a fan competing against Barry Wilson’s teams at Holy Cross when I was at East Jefferson. He is a Holy Cross legend. I know what I am walking into here.”

Saltaformaggio took Hahnville to a state championship game while at Hahnville. In a tough league including defending state champion Archbishop Rummel, who has won three state titles since 2012 and with John Curtis Christian, who has won 26 state championships, what will Holy Cross need to do to reach that level?

“I know we have a really good nucleus coming back and we have good young talent in our lower school,” Saltaformaggio said. “The challenge for me is to bring our football alumni back. There are a lot of kids playing high school football at rival schools whose dads played at Holy Cross. We need to arrest that development and we can. If we do that and we do our jobs, we can be that program.”

The move has Saltaformaggio feeling youthful again.

“I’m a young 60-year old,” Saltaformaggio said. “I feel like I’m a 40-year old man in a 60-year old body. I feel like this is a 10 to 12-year commitment. I want to be like J.T. Curtis, Lewis Cook and Tim Hightower and coach for a long time. If I do so, we can do it, to win big. We need to win people back to this campus, to make Holy Cross great again.”

The final piece to the puzzle was family and the emotions involved.

“My brother Joey is so close to the school with my nephew,” Saltaformaggio said. “He is happy. My dad went to school here, graduating in 1956. When I told him I was taking the job, he wanted to drive from Luling and walk on the campus, even with the threat of the virus. That’s how much it meant to him. That it is how much it means to family. That is how much it means to me.”

From his days at Holy Cross to LSU to Hahnville, the Tiger is and will continue to be a big part of the legacy of Saltaformaggio’s athletic career.

“I cannot wait to get started,” Saltaformaggio said. “I am home. I am a Tiger.”