Portland High School has a new head football coach: Dylan Rottkov, who has been the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Falmouth High School for the past two years.

“We are happy to announce that Dylan Rottkov will be the next head football coach at Portland High School,” said Spencer Allen, Portland High School’s athletics and co-curricular director, on Friday, Jan. 30. “He has both the knowledge and commitment that this program requires, and we are confident that he will not only continue the success of both coaches Sean Green and Nick Cliche, but build on that success and take both the program and the students to the next level.”

Green led the Portland team to a runner-up finish in 2023 and to winning the 2024 Class A title. This past season, Cliche led the Bulldogs to their fourth consecutive state championship game appearance, losing to Thornton Academy. In December, Cliche announced his decision to step away from his football coaching career.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be the next head football coach at Portland High School,” Rottkov said. “ I am excited to begin working with our student-athletes, staff, and administration to build a program that reflects the values of both the school and community. I am fully committed to developing young men of character, accountability, and discipline, while building a competitive football program that will make our school proud. Portland High School has a foundation of rich tradition and excellence. I am looking forward to working, along with my staff, to uphold a standard that all former and current Bulldogs can be proud of.”

Rottkov has experience as a defensive assistant. He started coaching high school football in 2022. In addition to the past two years at Falmouth, he was the defensive coordinator at Yarmouth High School for one season, in a year when they were the number one seed in 8-man large, and spent his first season of coaching as the assistant defensive coordinator here at Portland High School.

Rottkov was a football player and captain at South Portland High School. He is currently the owner/president of Blue Wave Basketball Club in Portland, a role that he worked his way up to after starting with the organization in 2021.

The Portland Public Schools is Maine’s largest school district, with more than 6,200 students, and it’s also the most diverse. About one-third of the district’s students come from homes where languages other than English are spoken—a total of 61 languages. Approximately 48 percent of the district’s students are white and 52 percent are students of color. More than half of all PPS students are economically disadvantaged.