His view is different now, crowded and sometimes chaotic.

For nine seasons ending in 2001, Chris Nixon was a fixture on top of the Elk Grove High School press box as the football team's offensive coordinator.

Thundering Herd football ruled the region. Nixon called it "the perfect job."

Now on the sidelines in his fourth season as the Herd's head coach, Nixon still says he has a plum gig. The Herd is 4-0, but he understands he's only as good as his last victory.

In the past 30 years, Elk Grove has had 26 winning seasons. Success creates enormous expectations.

That's how it's always been for Herd football coaches, who've faced heat from parents and boosters when even a trickle of on-field discord appears. They've been confronted after games, in the front yard at midnight, in the grocery store.

Two of those sub .500 records came under Nixon's watch, when a bounce here or there led to four-win seasons.

In recent seasons, Elk Grove hasn't only faced motivated foes, but changing times and demographics, too. The school used to corner the town's top talent. Now it shares it. Elk Grove's enrollment has thinned from 2,800 a decade ago to 1,800, and nearby Pleasant Grove, Franklin, Monterey Trail and Cosumnes Oaks high schools quickly developed strong programs.

The Herd still has plenty of elite athletes, Nixon said, just not as many. Plus, the Herd is unique among the Elk Grove district's nine high schools in that it doesn't have an on-campus football coach.

Nixon teaches at Feickert Elementary. His challenges are many, but no one weeps for the Herd.

"Elk Grove is a mystical place where if you're not 14-0, it can't possibly be anyone's fault but the head coach, and that's a heavy collar to wear," Sheldon coach Josh Crabtree said. "Of all the coaches in this town, Chris is the one who deserves a break. He's good people, but he also knows he's only 40 percent of the way there."

Elk Grove routed then-No. 11 Sheldon 51-7 last week, but its toughest challenges are ahead.

Friday, the No. 7 Thundering Herd travels to Grass Valley to play No. 3 Nevada Union. And Oct. 7, Elk Grove hosts No. 4 Grant.

Good times have returned to Elk Grove, but one bad night can ignite an inferno.

"The first two years I was here," Nixon said, "I listened to what people said, the criticism. Now I don't. Now I just focus on football, the kids, creating chemistry, getting better and avoiding the negative stuff."

In the last year, Nixon has gone back to the wing-T offense, a hallmark of the Herd's glory years that stalled after a 12-1 record in 2007. Elk Grove is prolific again, averaging 57 points a game.

"Chris went back to something he really knows," said Ed Lombardi, the revered Herd coach in the 1980s and '90s whose teams were fueled by the wing-T.

Lombardi has reminded Nixon that he also faced detractors.

"Chris has caught heck from everybody and he doesn't deserve it," Lombardi said. "I have merchants asking me about it. I tell them to be patient because they have a great coach."

As intense as he can be jovial, Nixon said he especially feels good this season for his senior leaders.

"Coach has created a brotherhood," said Steven Moore, a 6-foot-7 nationally recruited lineman. "We want to win for coach. He's been there for us."

Elk Grove's run game is rooted in the trenches. Robert Frazier and Deon Ransom have combined for 22 of the team's 32 rushing touchdowns.

The defense is headed by nose guard Matt Nugent, linebacker brothers in Noah and Josh Letuligasenoa and Ransom in the secondary.

Nixon knows what leads to success: strong defense and a running game.

"I may be accused of not being too smart, but I know what works," Nixon said. "The offensive line has been the cornerstone here for years and will be as long as I'm here."

Nixon plans a long stay. His wife, Tina, is closely involved in the program. Their sons – Sean, 9, and Scott, 7 – play in an Elk Grove youth football program. For home games, the boys – in their game jerseys – race in front of the stands to get fans into a frenzy.

Nearby on game nights is Marshall Nixon, beaming at his giddy grandsons and their dad the coach.

As a teenager, Nixon experienced what coaching in a pressure-cooker community means. Marshall Nixon coached Nevada Union to three 9-1 seasons. After going 5-5 in 1983, with son Chris an all-purpose player, Marshall was fired.

Looking back and ahead, Nixon said he marveled at how Lombardi, his mentor, could charm a community. He said he would "get Ed here in a heartbeat if he wants to."

Lombardi promised his wife, Jeannie, he'd take two coaching seasons off following his Sheldon retirement in 2009.

"For all the years Chris gave me, I'd work for him in a heartbeat," Lombardi said. "I'd work with the freshmen, run his study hall, deliver tables and chairs (to a fundraising event). Why? Because Elk Grove can be a very, very special place."

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