Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney was supposed to meet with the media one final time in 2022 over Zoom at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday. That soon turned into 11:30.

Chesney had to push things back because of prior recruiting business he needed to take care of. Holy Cross just lost in the NCAA quarterfinals three days ago.

That’s the life of a Division 1 program and after arguably the greatest season in program history concluded in South Dakota on Saturday, the rest of the football world wasn’t going to be slowing down or stopping because the Crusaders finished 12-1 and had dreams of a perfect season end after being tied 21-21 in the fourth quarter against the No. 1 team in the country.

Players like Walter Reynolds, Spencer Gilliam, Ayir Asante and Jake Reichwein have already entered the transfer portal and although there will be a number of familiar faces returning, some key pieces to the puzzle can no longer wear the purple and white despite having one year of eligibility left.

So, as fun and as special as 2022 was for everyone that watched, rooted for or covered the team, it’s already been relegated to just a memory now. Recruiting will become critical for Chesney and his staff the next few weeks as the 2022 roster was built as a “go after it now” type of team, with 16 fifth-year players. The good news is the cabinet isn’t completely empty.

“This is a critical class, right? For us, we do lose quite a bit of fifth-years. There’s a lot of seniors that can come back and have expressed interest in coming back,” said Chesney. “I think it’s not quite as dire a situation as we eventually run out of that Covid year. That’s what we all have to be pacing towards because in two years from now, that Covid year, you’re going to watch your ‘Covid Seniors’ and your actual seniors walk out that door.

“If all of our fifth-years and all of our seniors walked out today, it’d be 30-something guys. We’re fortunate we’re going to lose our fifth-year seniors, but be able to retain and hold onto a bunch of our regular seniors that are moving into their fifth year due to the Covid year.”

The turn around is truly stunning when you think about it. After so much emotion, time and energy goes into pursuing a national title, just 48-ish hours later, Chesney and his staff have to not only see relationships end, but quickly make sure the team on the field next year can be equally as competitive.

“We just got off a plane, it feels like a couple of hours ago from South Dakota,” Chesney said. “It was an emotional game and obviously, when you watch these guys…I haven’t coached a football game (at Holy Cross) without Kuz (Dan Kuznetsov) and (Jake) Reichwein and Walt Reynolds and Grady Smith and Nick Olsofka and Peter Oliver and Derek Ng, I’ve never coached a football game here at this school without them.

“We had our team meeting (Monday) afternoon and usually at the end of that meeting, I have the seniors get up and walk out. It’s just an interesting visual to see them physically walk out, but then also see those empty seats sitting there and as everybody remains in their seat, you noticed it’s a lot of guys from the front row. Not only do you have to replace their position or the seat in that room metaphorically so to speak, it’s also about replacing their positions on this field. I think that’s what that whole meeting is about and now we’re a new team. We’re moving forward. We had something very, very special and now we have to try to recreate and do even better than that, which is obviously a huge challenge.”

Chesney also expressed happiness for the guys that are heading to the portal. It’s not that they no longer wanted to be a part of the program, it’s simply because they no longer can be.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “I think it’s awesome. Those fifth-year guys, there’s nothing they can do about it. They can’t come back for a sixth year Patriot League wise. They are fortunate to still have football days left to play and I will help them in any way I can. I wish it could be here, but it can’t so let’s help them move forward and continue to chase this sport and this game they’re passionate about.

“I love seeing it and I love being able to help them with connections and help them get their name out there and do it. It’s a blessing for them to have that extra year. They’ve certainly done their time here with us. The five years most of them have done or the four years most have done, they held up their end of the commitment and now it’s awesome they get to go try and play somewhere else.”

The most important thing Chesney can portray to potential recruits right now is his commitment to Holy Cross. There has never been any reason to believe he’d be going anywhere, but with so much success at every stop he’s ever been at, especially during his time in Worcester, Chesney’s name will undoubtedly come up for numerous coaching jobs both at the FCS and FBS level once again.

“From year one when we got here and we went five-and-whatever and then year two we won the league, all of the sudden that started,” Chesney said with a grin. “We’ve been here for five years. At the same time, it’s something we’ve always stressed…I say it to our guys, your phone should be ringing. If your phone isn’t ringing when jobs are open, if people don’t want your coaches there’s probably a pretty good chance you don’t want your coaches. That isn’t negative at all. I see my name pop up online in some of these things and I’m like, I don’t know about these things but it’s kind of nice to have your name in there, but at the same time I’d much rather have it that way than where no one wants your coaches

“That’s always the double-edged sword when people use that in recruiting or whatever it might be, ‘hey they’re leaving, hey he’s going to go,’ why isn’t your head coach leaving? Why doesn’t your head coach have opportunities? Nobody wants that guy? That, to me, is a bigger problem than having success. I’m very happy here. This is a phenomenal program, we return so many players. I think our future is so, so bright.”

In regards to staff changes, Chesney knows it’s probably inevitable, that’s just how things work in the world of coaching.

“There’s so much movement, there’s so many things happening out there that it’s just different right now. I know last year we lost seven guys and we were able to find guys and replace them and do a good job this year. That’s my job in the end. I don’t know what’s a better job for each of my coaches, but my job is to try and retain them and keep them here. They have to do what they think is best for them. That’s also part of my job, is to help these guys move forward and move on. Someone did that for me at some point in time so there’s no use in complaining about it, there’s only use in helping people the best you can.

“Who knows? You know how this goes, one day everything is great and the next day you don’t have a job anymore. I think keeping and building these relationships…I think someday I’ll be working for one of these guys or all of these guys. I’m sure the inevitable eventually happens, which it does with every coach. It’s not so much if you’re fired, but when. I love it here. I love the purity of this level. I love that our coaches are wanted. I love that our product is wanted. I love that people really respect and love being a part of this team and I do too.”

Whether it was Bill Simmons, various local news stations, or even Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, seemingly everyone was pulling for the Crusaders this past weekend. The support thrown behind the program these last few years has been refreshing, and Chesney knows that support is only going to grow as he continues building a championship contender.

“You had that New Hampshire game with the lacrosse team in the end zone with their shirts off in the cold, windy rain, it was awesome,” Chesney added. “It was some others, but mainly them. You don’t only feel that from our students, you feel that in the community. Anywhere you walk around with (the HC crest) on your chest people want to stop and talk about it. People want to have a piece of that and people are very, very excited about it and excited about the future of it and I think that bodes very well for us moving forward.

“It’s pretty awesome that years ago you dreamed of that happening and we keep saying it, but what was once a dream is now a reality. I think it’s really special. It’s not only the guys on that field…it’s the people that cover us every single week. From our equipment people to our custodial staff, to the front desk, to the parents back home, everybody that touched this program, in my mind, is part of this and helped lead to this success. You’re all part of this and we’ll all forever sort of going to be linked together. Not just because of football, but because of the way it’s been done. I think we’re all better for it, being a part of this program, period. It was pretty special and it’s going to take a lot of work to replicate it.”