After accusations, statements of support and uncertainty swirling around his position as the head varsity football coach at Niles West High School in Skokie, Nick Torresso announced on social media Tuesday that he is no longer coach at the school.
Torresso’s post thanked supporters and praised his players but did not say whether Niles Township High School District 219 removed him from the coaching position or whether he resigned from it, or whether he is retaining his position as a Niles West special education teacher.
As of Dec. 17, the district posted the head football coach position vacancy on its website, soliciting applicants for the 2025-2026 season.
Torresso’s social media post came a week after District 219 Board of Education members voted unanimously at their Dec. 10 meeting to issue Torresso a “notice of remedial warning.” They voted without discussion of the issue.
The warning came after a series of events in which the mother of a player spoke at the September School Board meeting accusing Torresso of causing her son injury and ridicule, followed by the district placing Torresso on leave on Oct. 2, in the middle of the football season, followed by several players praising the coach at the October Board meeting.
District administrators including Superintendent Thomas Moore, Executive Director of Human Resources and Legal Services Ray Chung and Athletic Director for Niles West Dana Krilich did not respond to Pioneer Press questions about whether Torresso was still employed by the district in his position as a special education teacher.
When asked about Torresso’s situation, District 219 Director of Communications Takumi Iseda said the district could not comment on personnel matters.
Executive Director of Communications for the Illinois State Board of Education Jaclyn Matthews defined a “remedial warning” as a “written warning given to a tenured teacher by the district school board for misconduct that is deemed remediable.” Speaking generally, and not specifically to the District 219 situation, she said local school districts typically issue the warning for “serious or repeated misconduct.”
Matthews said in an email to Pioneer Press that if a teacher violates the conditions of the warning, “the school district will pursue dismissal of the tenured teacher.”
Torresso’s social media post did not mention the warning or the events leading up to it, saying, “After four amazing years with some of the best kids in the world, my time as Head Coach at Niles West has come to an end. It has been nothing short of amazing to get to know these young men and their families grow together. I can’t thank them enough for their belief in me and relentless hard work these last 4 years…”
The matter came to public attention Sept. 10, when Tammy Caballero, the mother of a Niles West football player, spoke during the public comment period at District 219’s Board of Education meeting to accuse Torresso of causing anguish to her son, who she said was recovering from a previous ankle injury. She said Torresso should have known better than to require her son to perform exercises that injured him, given that his previous injury had not resolved.
Caballero shared a text with Pioneer Press she said she sent to Torresso in the spring, months before she said her son was re-injured in an exercise demanded by Torresso.
“I do apologize as (my son) has missed numerous lifts both morning and afternoon,” she wrote in the text that she said Torresso did not respond to. She said she also texted a picture of a doctor’s note signed by her son’s pediatrician that confirmed he had gone to an appointment on May 8. Caballero said her son was re-injured in early July at football practice.
After the school district placed Torresso on leave on Oct. 2, a group of about 20 student athletes who view Torresso favorably attended District 219’s Oct. 8 Board of Education meeting and voiced their support for him. Former athletes and parents also weighed in to say how Torresso has played a pivotal role in their lives as a coach and father figure.
Pioneer Press obtained a text message through the Freedom of Information Act between an unidentified parent and Torresso that was heavily redacted because of the district’s policy of protecting private information, including student names and medical information.
Torresso wrote to an unidentified parent on the evening of the September board meeting, “FYI [redacted] went to the board tonight and made a public comment about me. Accusing me of ridiculing [redacted].”
“She went in front of my colleagues and pulled this (expletive)?” Torresso texted along with a photograph redacted by the district. “I already called my lawyer. I’m not gonna be the fall guy for these people and their own issues,” he wrote.
Torresso responded to the parent’s redacted response of “I am so so sorry” with “It’s all good.”
“I just don’t understand why she’s coming at me like this. I’ve never done any wrong by her kid,” Torresso wrote.
Torresso did not respond to a request for comment from Pioneer Press.
Caballero told Pioneer Press she rented an apartment within the Niles North High School attendance boundaries so her son could attend that school in order to avoid the strong feelings regarding the football team at Niles West.
During the public comment at the Dec. 10 school board meeting, Caballero said, “I don’t know what’s really going on, no one’s communicating. All I’m saying is that I’m hoping that this district understands what’s just and what’s important (for) my kid and other kids,” Caballero said.
One of the many comments on Torresso’s social media post speculated that this probably wasn’t the way he wanted his coaching career at the school to end.
“Ended even better,” Torresso replied. “Back to back playoffs for the first time in 10 years, 10+ college bound athletes, increased team gpa,[sic] brought the school community together. Was a blessing! On the next.”
