New Shelby football coach Jacob Tumele, whose hire was approved by the Shelby school board March 23, wants to keep the momentum going after the Tigers won a district championship in 2025, the program’s third ever. And like his predecessor Phil Fortier, Tumele has devised an acronym to summarize his standard for the program.
Fortier’s preferred philosophy was to be a D.U.D.E. - determined, unselfish, disciplined and effort. Tumele is topping Fortier by one letter, going with T.I.G.E.R. - toughness, improvement, gratitude, empathy and respect. Tumele shared that philosophy with the players when he met with them after his hiring.
“The biggest thing I wanted to do in that meeting is to introduce them to who I am and start building that relationship, telling them that this is what Shelby football is going to look like moving forward,” Tumele said. “We’re going to honor the past and what Phil and Lorenzo (Rodriguez) have done in setting the foundation, but moving forward this will be what it’s like to be a Shelby Tiger - being physical, fundamental and smart. Everything we do - offense, defense, special teams - will be under that umbrella.”
This will be Tumele’s first head coaching job, but he has a wealth of experience from around West Michigan. He’s coached at his alma mater Orchard View, as well as at Hart - where he worked with Pirates’ coach Joe Tanis - and Greenville, Spring Lake and Ravenna. He was most recently defensive coordinator at Fremont.
That experience with West Michigan Conference schools attracted Shelby when it searched for Fortier’s successor upon his retirement following last season.
“The people on the committee, when we were done, felt that number one, Jacob is going to be able to relate to our kids,” Shelby athletic director Chuck Persenaire said. “That stood out to us. He has really vast football knowledge. Everyone we talked to commented on his football knowledge. (We appreciated) the way he brought himself across, the leadership capabilities he’s going to have and the way he’s going to be able to have a good feel for our student population.”
Tumele will also teach at Shelby as Fortier did, which is always attractive when hiring a coach.
“Having your head coach in your building is a definite plus,” Persenaire said. “He’ll see the kids on a daily basis and walk the halls with them.”
Fortier said after retirement that he was happy to be a resource for the next coach, and Tumele said he looks forward to availing himself of that advice as he tries to build the next generation of Shelby champions.
“I think it’s awesome to have someone like that to ask him some logistical questions,” Tumele said. “Most importantly, being a sounding board and being there if you need something.”
As far as on-field philosophy, Tumele said his hope is to build a team that emphasizes the strengths of its players. In year one, it seems clear the focal points will be two-way stars Jaylin Henderson and Brody Fessenden, who were key parts of the Tigers’ district championship run and will be back for their senior seasons. Tumele is very aware that many of the linemen that paved the way for their successes will graduate, so the duo will be even more important to next year’s team. Tumele added that Elijah Dashiell will be another major factor among skill position players.
“They’ll have to be the dudes we surround ourselves with,” Tumele said. “What we do offensively and defensively has to maximize what they can do. We have to execute at a high level. We can’t make mistakes.”
The coach also has a goal of, as much as possible, eliminating presnap penalties and other mental mistakes. His hope is that the team will be able to play fast and rely on players’ athleticism.
Another thing Tumele said he was excited by was the reaction of the players he met with to his idea of creating a leadership council for the team, which he’s calling the “championship circle.” He said nearly all of the 30 or so players he met with expressed interest in being part of it.
It’s a new era in Shelby, and Tumele is hopeful it will be a fruitful one.
“What i’m most excited about is bringing the Shelby formula - which to me is how you conduct ourselves on and off the field, that T.I.G.E.R. standard - and getting the most out of our kids,” Tumele said.
