Sag Harbor - Fred Marienfeld, the former varsity boys basketball coach who was dismissed on behavioral grounds in January, has resigned as a physical education instructor at Pierson Middle School, effective July 1.

According to Superintendent John Gratto, Marienfeld presented school officials with a letter on Friday, June 12, stating that he was resigning for "personal reasons," although he did not elaborate on those reasons. In accepting Marienfeld's resignation on behalf of the school board, Superintendent Gratto stated he hoped to post the vacancy on the district's website as soon as possible, ideally by Monday, to find a "high quality candidate."

Marienfeld will serve out his term this year; the last day of school at the middle school is Monday, June 23. Gratto would not speculate whether the falling-out from the dismissal of Marienfeld from his basketball post was related to his resignation as teacher. Voicemail messages left with Marienfeld went unanswered as of Monday afternoon.

Marienfeld was dismissed as varsity coach on January 29 following a series of verbal clashes with players and parents. According to school officials, On Jan. 6, Marienfeld was suspended for four days after using explicit language in a halftime speech during the Whalers' 56-28 loss to McGann-Mercy. Two players, Nick DePetris and Jake Federico, left the team shortly after the incident. Details of the roller coaster season were described in full in the local media. In the widely circulated account, Marienfeld is reported to claim that DePetris, who he didn't name captain despite being a senior and key contributor, "has a history of quitting teams, and when he quits he makes it difficult for the coach. He was the only returning player not to play in the summer league. We had 15 workouts in the fall, and he attended none of them, zero. He wasn't a leader or a role model."

Days later, Marienfeld was removed from the head coaching post. "We have expectations of our coaches and during the season Coach was unable to live up to those expectations," said first-year Sag Harbor Athletic Director Bill Madsen. He later called Marienfeld "a good coach and family man" and praised his ability to bring Pierson to the playoffs in each of his four seasons at the helm.

Gratto too spoke highly of Marienfeld as both an instructor and coach. "My interactions with Fred have been really positive," he said. "He's a nice man."

Marienfeld was replaced for one game by assistant Kevin Barron, coincidentally for the Whalers' rematch with Mercy. That night Christian Johns was named the interim coach for the rest of the season, and he guided the Whalers to the Class C playoffs before they were ousted by Port Jefferson. In March, Johns was chosen from a list of five candidates within the school district to fill the coaching position on a permanent basis.