For the first time in nearly two decades, Eric Saucier will not be on the sidelines with Conant High boys’ basketball next winter.

The longtime Orioles head coach has accepted the boys’ basketball head coaching job at Bow High School, Saucier confirmed to the Keene Sentinel on Sunday.

Saucier replaces Scott Drapeau at the Falcons’ helm. Drapeau guided Bow the past three years, going 13-7 last season with a Division II tournament quarterfinal loss to Hanover.

Saucier, 46, cited ongoing health issues as one of the leading factors for the switch. Bow High School is just 10 minutes from his home in Concord.

“My health is a factor,” said Saucier. “This job at Bow allows me to coach and take care of my health. It was not that I wanted to leave Conant. … This was an incredibly difficult decision. … To coach 10 minutes from my house was a big factor.”

Saucier spent 19 seasons with the Conant boys, 16 as head coach. He started at the Jaffrey-Rindge school as an assistant for legendary coach Joe Giovannangeli.

“On behalf of Conant athletics and our basketball program, we are disappointed to lose Coach Saucier,” Conant athletic director Heather F. Linstad said in an emailed statement. “Coach Saucier has been an incredible coach for Conant High School. His dedication and commitment to our student-athletes over 19 seasons has been second to none. We are very thankful for everything he has done for Conant. We wish him nothing but the best.”

As head coach, Saucier and the Orioles won five state titles — most recently in 2019 — and made seven finals appearances with nine trips to the Final Four.

Saucier and the Orioles made it to the Division III state final this past March, where they fell to St. Thomas at Keene State College.

“One word: Appreciation,” said Saucier on how to summarize his time at Conant. “For the players, the fans, the parents, all the buy-in. I can’t thank the community and everyone that was a part of the program enough. I’ve always said Conant is my second family, and it always will be.

“We had a great career,” Saucier added. “I say we as in everyone involved in the program. I had not just great players but great young men that have grown up to become successful.”

Saucier is familiar with the gym at Bow High, where he’ll enjoy a little more room on the sideline for his signature crouch during play compared to the tight configurations of Conant’s Pratt Auditorium. Bow hosted the Division III tournament semifinals this past season. Bow competes in Division II.

“I’m very excited for the new opportunity,” said Saucier. “It’s like a new journey. There’s a lot of questions, but there’s also excitement. I’m just thrilled I still have the opportunity to coach. I’ve always said I’ll stop when I lose the passion, and I don’t see that happening soon.”

Linstad said Conant’s search for its next head coach will begin immediately.

Monitor staff writer Eric Rynston-Lobel contributed to this report.