Staff photo / Dan Hiner Cardinal Mooney football coach Carl Pelini, left, talks with an assistant coach during halftime of a game against Boardman at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 28.

Carl Pelini’s time at Cardinal Mooney has come to a close.

On Monday, Pelini stepped down as the school’s football coach and athletic director. Vince Taddei, Cardinal Mooney High School’s director of communications, confirmed the move Monday afternoon.

Pelini in July 2020 after the school parted ways with longtime coach PJ Fecko. Mooney went 17-36, with a 3-4 playoff record, during Pelini’s tenure.

The Cardinals went 2-6 in Pelini’s first season, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, a domestic violence accusation on Aug. 29, 2021, resulted in the coach being put on administrative leave. But Pelini was reinstated shortly after charges were dropped, and the Cardinals finished the 2021 campaign 1-9.

Mooney improved in 2022, finishing 6-7 and making the playoffs. The Cardinals fell to state champion South Range in the regional semifinals.

There was another retention issue between Pelini and Cardinal Mooney in the spring of 2023. School president Nicholas Beyers elected to not renew Pelini’s contract as the football coach and athletic director. Beyers reinstated Pelini a week later, saying he “moved too aggressively” while making changes at the school.

Pelini led the Cardinals to another playoff season when the fall rolled around, however. The Cardinals finished 5-6 before falling to Butchel in the first round.

This past fall, Mooney got off to a slow start. The Cards began the season with a four-game losing streak before beating Mayfield. They eventually completed the regular season with a 3-7 record and got into the playoffs. They fell to Streetsboro in the first round of the Division IV postseason.

Pelini went to the high school ranks after his brother, Bo, stepped down as the head coach at Youngstown State to become the defensive coordinator at LSU. Carl Pelini served as the defensive coordinator for his brother’s final season with the Penguins.

He will remain the athletic director for the rest of the school year.

Carl Pelini declined to comment.