Former Mars football head coach Eric Kasperowicz, who is taking over his alma mater, North Hills, said he believes the Planets’ job is a good one and the program is “up-and-coming.” Ralph LoVuolo/Butler Eagle

The decision made a lot of sense. Not that feasibility made it any easier.

Last week, Eric Kasperowicz vacated Mars’ football head coaching job, opting to take over at North Hills, where he starred on the gridiron in high school and has taught for nearly three decades.

Kasperowicz said there are plenty of solid coaches in the area who could be candidates to succeed him. He expects his previous job to “attract a ton of attention.” He added one of his assistants — he declined to say who — is planning on throwing their hat into the ring.

“Whoever steps in is gonna be stepping into a really, really nice situation,” Kasperowicz said of the Planets’ open position. “A lot of good players returning, great families.”

What he left behind is what made it so tough to make the switch.

Kasperowicz led Mars for four seasons, reaching a pair of WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. He’d previously served as head coach at nearby Pine-Richland (2012-20), winning four WPIAL championships and a pair of state titles. He was an offensive analyst for Pitt in 2021 before arriving with the Planets.

Mars went 30-17 under Kasperowicz’s direction. There’s plenty of room for growth for the program still, he said.

“It’s an up-and-coming program that’s gonna get bigger and bigger,” Kasperowicz said. “Now, everybody thinks it’s bigger than it is. ... Another 10 years from now, I think it could be up in possibly (Class) 6A.

“The families are tremendous. The youth program we got kind of going the way we wanted to, and we were all aligned, from the youth all the way up to the high school level. And I think that’s what you need to do to have success.”

Ultimately, Kasperowicz described his departure as one of the toughest decisions he ever had to make. What surrounds Mars’ program is what helps make it desirable.

“I ended up falling in love with the place and the people, the community,” Kasperowicz said. “It was exciting to get there and be able to coach those kids, and the families and players all bought in 100%. When you do that, you can do something special. I couldn’t be happier with what we were able to accomplish there, and I think the program’s in a tremendous place right now.”