Paul Flynn admits it.

Any time he looks at a glass that is half empty, he sees it as half full. He's one of those eternal optimists.

And that's why, in spite of the frustrations of the past few years, he thinks the athletic programs of the Davenport public schools again can become highly successful.

Flynn is in the final days of his regime as the athletic director for the Davenport district, but he leaves the job with genuine hopes for his yet-to-be-named successor.

"I really feel Davenport can turn it around," he said.

"It's frustrating," he added. "I don't deny that. But I don't think it's an impossible task."

Davenport schools were once a trend-setter in athletics. In the 1950s and '60s, when Flynn was a kid growing up here, the name evoked fear and respect on playing fields in every corner of Iowa.

Part of that was because it was one of the few big districts in the state that had sports programs at the junior high level. Eventually, other districts developed programs at that level and began to compete with one another.

The Davenport district intermediate schools mostly just compete against one another and Flynn feels that being sheltered from outside opposition has impeded the competitiveness of the high school programs. There are some sports in which the only teams Davenport Central, West and North can beat are each other.

He thinks the junior high teams need to begin playing more schools from outside the district.

But that's not all that needs to be done.

He said his successor will need to hire the right people and keep them. Constant turnover in coaching positions is not conducive to success.

He said the new district AD will need to find ways to create revenue for the district athletic programs.

Most of all, he needs to find a way to hang onto the athletes that reside in the district. Open enrollment and the success of rival programs has led to a not-so-slow leak in the Davenport talent pool. He thinks if Davenport schools can find a way to make contact with athletes at a younger age and make them feel connected to the district high schools, they will stay.

"My perception is that there's a lot less loyalty within the system," Flynn said. "We've become the kind of society where if things aren't going well where you're at, you just go somewhere else. To me, this is what sports is all about: You fight through adversity and make it work where you're at."

He said he thinks if people are patient and persistent, the situation will turn around.

After Tuesday, it won't be Flynn's problem any more. After 37 years of service to the district, he is retiring.

He began as an eighth-grade football coach at what was then known as North Intermediate School, then was an assistant coach under the legendary Jim Fox at Central for five years.

He took a job as an assistant under Roger Harrington at West in 1978 and was content to do that for the remainder of his career. He assumed that fellow assistant Cy Robinson would succeed Harrington but when North opened in 1985, Robinson became the head man there. Four years later, when Harrington retired, Flynn was the clear choice to replace him.

He spent 14 years as the head football coach at West and insisted he didn't even know what his career won-loss record was. Nor does he care.

"I never was one to keep records," Flynn said.

We are. He was 56-73, including the only three playoff appearances the Falcons have had in the past two decades.

"I can tell you I never had a bad team as far as the kids were concerned," Flynn said. "I always had kids who wanted to work hard and do what it takes.

"When I retired (from coaching), a lot of coaches told me they always knew they were going to be in a game when they played West. That was fine with me. That's all I cared about."

He became dean of students at West for a couple of years, then the assistant principal at North.

In 2006, he took on the daunting job of overseeing all the district's athletic programs as well as the physical education and health curriculum.

It's a job he genuinely loved at times and despised at others.

Now, at 60, he's ready to let someone else take a stab at it.

He and his wife Tammy Flynn-Murphy, an elementary school principal in Moline, haven't had a real vacation in six years. They depart for Hawaii next week. Flynn also has a September fishing trip planned with some of old coaching pals.

He also has a boat he hasn't used in six years and about 14 years of unfinished chores around the house. Beyond that, he's not sure what he'll do. Maybe a little volunteer work. He'll still help out with things like the Jesse Day Relays.

"We'll see what comes up," he said. "I don't plan on being idle. I'm not going to close the door on anything."

Except maybe a return to coaching. He has watched some of his peers leave the profession only to jump back into it later on, often at higher levels.

That won't be him.

"I spent 30 years coaching and I enjoyed it," he said. "There are parts of it that I miss. But it's a big commitment no matter what level you're at and I don't feel the urge to get back into it."