With a heart 'still young for the game,' TJ Greene hired as Neah Bay football coach for second time

If you thought 51-year-old Timothy John "TJ" Greene Sr. was at the two-minute warning of his life in football, guess again.

He's coming back for a second stint as the Neah Bay High School coach, hired in June to replace Kane Bachelor, who stepped down after two seasons (family) after leading the Red Devils to the WIAA Class 1B title game last fall.

And if you are wondering how much Greene has left in the tank to coach a likely state contender, well ... he just retired from semi-professional football two years ago in the Greater Northwest Football Association (GNFA) with the Peninsula Bay (and once Neah Bay) Eagles.

"I did about 15 years of weekend-warrior football, playing and owning and coaching a team," Greene said.

What position did he play?

"I mostly played outside linebacker, and occasionally at running back when some of the younger legs weren't available," said Greene, a 1990 Neah Bay graduate. "Sometimes you show up at a game, and you were playing left guard. Fortunately at 5-foot-6, I've got a little bit more weight around the belt (at 210 pounds) than when I was younger."

Besides in football, Green's investment into the community is deep-rooted: He used to be the town's police chief. And for the past 15 years, he has been an officer on the Makah Tribal Council, including the past five-plus years as the elected chairman.

Make no mistake, Greene loves his time in football.

Once the Clallam Bay coach (went 1-16 in two seasons), he came to former coach Tony McCaulley's staff at Neah Bay in 2009 and was part of the Red Devils' golden-era run of five WIAA title-game appearances in six seasons - winning Class 1B titles in 2011, 2013-14 and 2016.

When McCaulley resigned in 2018, Greene took the reins for three seasons (one was COVID-19 spring season), going 15-9.

Once Bachelor was ready to take on the position, Greene stayed on staff as a volunteer assistant, including for Neah Bay's run to the WIAA title game last December, losing to Liberty Bell at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

"I love football. I love the game. And I love the opportunity to have a positive impact on our players," Greene said. "And certainly, I did feel a tremendous amount of obligation and duty to put in for the head coach position (after Bachelor stepped down)."

This will be Greene's 30th year coaching football overall.

"My heart is still young for the game," he said.

(Featured photo by Marla Tolliver)