Decatur football coach Matt Vaeena to step down

Published 5:34 pm Monday, March 23, 2026

The time has come for Decatur High School football coach Matt Vaeena to step aside and hand over the reins of his program. In a conversation with The Mirror, the football coach said it is his time to pass the baton to his successor, Evan Cook.

Vaeena took over the Decatur program in 2018, and it was a program down in the dumps. A program that hadn’t won more than five games this century. But now it is one that was taken to new heights.

“When we started, I got hired a couple of weeks before spring ball and it was just go-go. It feels like it (football) has been nonstop since then,” Vaeena said.

In his eight years at the helm, Decatur has gone from a speed bump to a Mack truck. Decatur’s all time record under Vaeena was 35-41, but in the last three seasons, Decatur had won double the number of games compared to his first five.

Bashful might be an understatement as a way to describe Vaeena’s personality. Rarely does he take credit for success, but he is always at the forefront of taking responsibility when things don’t go the Gators’ way. His calm demeanor, his Crocs and shorts on the sideline, paired with his frizzy rain soaked hair are emblematic of how he operates as a leader. Not concerned with optics or outside noise, Vaeena is here to coach football and be there for his players.

“I am not the best at dealing with compliments. But I am trying to take it all in stride. Anything good that has come from our program, I have been really lucky. Our staff has been great. We have really good coaches and the kids have been amazing,” Vaeena said.

He informed his team and his players at the banquet following the 2025 season, where Decatur fell short of their goal of returning to the WIAA state tournament. Heading into the season, he didn’t think it was going to be his last ride as a head coach. But as the year progressed, he thought it would be best to pass the reins to someone deserving, and that was Cook.

“It’s wild to think about when it started and all these years later that we have gotten some traction. I feel like we have done right by the program and by the kids we have been in charge with. Now it is time to hand it over and let somebody else carry it forward,” Vaeena said.

It was unexpected for some players and parents in the Decatur program when Vaeena announced his plans at the banquet. But with his nephew on the team and being close with others, some players already knew ahead of time.

“It was a pretty big surprise for some of the kids and parents and things. But the biggest thing I told them was Cook is ready to do this,” Vaeena said.

Cook has been wanting to lead a program, after missing out on the head job at Todd Beamer High School before coming to Decatur. Cook took a job as defensive coordinator for Vaeena and has been on the staff since 2022.

“A lot of the decision has to do with the fact that if Cook is not here, this doesn’t happen yet. But he is ready to be a head coach. … It came down to looking in the mirror and being honest where we are at as a program and where I am at as a coach and an educator,” Vaeena said.

Vaeena initially met Cook off the football field before bringing him aboard.

“What I have told people is we are in the same lane, just driving a better car. Cook and I share a lot of similar values. We met through youth work. We literally met through the support of kids who were going through some court things,” Vaeena said.

Vaeena has pulled off one of the most impressive coaching accomplishments in the state. He took Decatur, a team that hadn’t made the state tournament or really competed for a league championship in decades, and accomplished both of those achievements in less than 10 seasons.

“I haven’t really sat back too much. But one thing that sticks with me and I am super proud of is we are in a place now that I feel we should be competing for a week 10 play-in game and playing in a week 10 play-in game. When we started, that definitely wasn’t the case,” Vaeena said. “That is something that I feel Cook will carry forward and our kids can grab hold of.”

His favorite team? Not his first, not the team to make the state tournament. But his team from 2019, a team that on paper was just .500 (5-5), but set the foundation for what Vaeena wanted his program to look like.

“Obviously that 2024 team went down as the first undefeated league team, which carried the work of the ‘23 team. We watched that ‘23 team just get abused on the field as freshmen. They played so much varsity that when they got plays on C-team, parents would get angry that we were playing our varsity on C-team,” Vaeena said. “The team that stands out the most is that 2019 team. That group of kids came through and just figured it out.”

In 2019, Decatur played Kentwood for a chance to make the week 10 playoffs. It was a first real chance at a postseason berth for a Vaeena-led team.

“It was a our first time even sniffing the playoffs. We played that entire year with 18-19 kids. We would get off the bus and literally ask when the second bus was supposed to arrive,” Vaeena said. “That team from a sentimental standpoint will be probably at the top.”

He is not leaving the program entirely, but rather swapping roles with Cook. Vaeena will still be at workouts at 4 a.m. and impacting the program just as he has before.