Heads of the athletic department at Live Oak High School go back
to work this week. And when they do, they will begin the onerous
task of finding a new varsity football coach
Heads of the athletic department at Live Oak High School go back to work this week. And when they do, they will begin the onerous task of finding a new varsity football coach.
It would be daunting enough had former coach Jon Michael Porras not ruled out the possibility of returning to the sideline in the next few years. Porras stepped down last month because of health concerns but is continuing to teach at Live Oak.
That leaves LOHS athletic director Mark Cummins and his staff looking for extremely rare candidates. They must be willing to commit their afternoons, evenings and occasional weekends to the program in fall without having a full-time teaching job at Live Oak. It is a balance few can manage at a time when California public schools are gutting extracurricular programs to meet their budgets. Juggling an off-campus job and coaching football was enough for Greg Garcia to resign this offseason after two years at the helm at Gilroy High School.
There isn’t a decent amount of money to be made in coaching-only positions in this state. There probably never will be again.
Cummins and company are in somewhat of a pickle. They want to make a hire before spring football begins May 16, but they first have to figure out which direction they want the program to move. Do they (A) promote an assistant coach to watch over the program until Porras is healthy enough to return; (B) rebuild behind an outsider, or (C) promote an assistant coach for the long run?
The good news is any of those options seems like a smart move, given the potential replacements. They could be current LOHS defensive coordinator Mike Gemo and another area coach who asked not to be named. Morgan Hill Midget Raiders coach Steve Sorce, who guided his team to the 2010 Pop Warner Super Bowl, said Monday he is not interested in the job. No other out-of-house applicants have been named, though, several are bound to surface in the next two weeks.
I have gotten to know Gemo and the anonymous coach during the past few years and can vouch that both are extremely dedicated and know what it takes to run a successful football team in Morgan Hill.
Gemo has received glowing reviews from his past head coach, Santa Teresa’s Nick Alfano, and looked like he has been coaching Live Oak’s defense for years this season. It was actually his first. Gemo stepped up in place of another viable defensive mind in Eric Cockrell, thus showing he can take over a talented group without a hitch. Gemo has a controlled, Tom Cable-like intensity that registers well with players.
Cummins has said he prefers to stay in house, and he has good reasons. Promoting an assistant coach is almost always a safe play on paper. No one understands a program better than the guys who are involved with it.
And there is a lot to understand about coaching Live Oak football. It is what I like to call a “Notre Dame program,” where success is measured in three letters — CCS — and fans expect coaches to carry on a winning tradition from decades past, even if enrollment numbers aren’t nearly the same.
Porras brought the Acorns to the cusp of a Central Coast Section title in 2007 and two years later was targeted in two investigations initiated by players’ parents who disagreed with his methods.
It remains an attractive job to area coaches. Sobrato’s Nick Borello noted Live Oak’s rich tradition, adding, “The future always seems to look good at Live Oak. It’s (a job) for anyone who wants to put the time and effort in and is willing to be patient. It’s for someone who wants to stay there.”
Alfano, a Morgan Hill resident, agreed.
“Live Oak gets good kids in terms of athleticism and size,” he said. “It’s tough having Sobrato 10 minutes away, but we deal with that, too, with Oak Grove. It just takes dedication.”
Since Cummins is a fan of Porras, I would not be surprised if an assistant was promoted on a pseudo-interim basis until Porras is healthy enough to coach again.
As much as the pseudo-interim idea glistens as a quick fix, it is based on the assumption Porras will return to coaching, which seems likely. Porras was born to coach. He was willing to do so the last four seasons despite extreme discomfort in his back and neck. Still, nothing is guaranteed.
So it goes with any hiring process. Whomever does end up taking the job previously held by the legendary Norm Dow, he should be flattered. Cummins can let the other candidates down softly with these five words: This was no easy decision.
He will mean it.
