Del Oro change is latest in the latest in high school football offseason moves
The high school football coaching cycle continues to churn as coaches come and go.
On Tuesday, Del Oro High School announced Jeff Walters has been named athletic director for the Golden Eagles, one of the powerhouse athletic programs in Northern California. Walters stepped down as football coach to accept this appointment, and his first big task is helping land his replacement for one of the highest-profile gigs in the state.
Walters took over the Del Oro football fortunes at Del Oro in 2017 after a successful run at Liberty High in Brentwood. Walters replaced the hugely successful Casey Taylor, who departed for new challenges at Capital Christian. Walters led Del Oro in 2018 to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship and to a CIF State Bowl bid, though those titles were later vacated due to the Golden Eagles unknowingly playing a junior-varsity callup for one play late in a blowout playoff win. The player had not been cleared to compete in a varsity game.
Walters poured himself into football, often saying he was, “Living the dream!” The news of his role switch came as a thunderbolt of a surprise throughout the region, though Walters had talked before of pursuing new challenges in education. Walters will also lead the Placer Unified High School District’s “InsideOut Coaching Initiative,” which stresses, “inspiring and catalyzing communities to transform sports communities.”
Said Del Oro principal Chelsy Nauman in a statement, “Taking on the AD position will provide Jeff with the opportunity to further develop his leadership skills in a broader athletic capacity. He will continue teaching in the Social Science and/or PE Departments while pursuing his administrative credential. Jeff has shown the ability to be a leader inside and outside of the classroom, which will enhance the perpetual Del Oro expectation of excellence. We congratulate Jeff and are excited to support him in this new endeavor as a valued member of the Del Oro leadership team.”
Nauman added that Del Oro will post the new coaching availability immediately and that Del Oro will “be hiring the highest quality candidate possible.”
Del Oro’s next coach is ...
Names that have already circulated as potential Del Oro head coach are good ones: Randy Fasani, Steve Birch, Bill Sherman and Chris Nixon.
Fasani is Del Oro’s greatest player, the No. 1 quarterback recruit in America in 1995 who went to Stanford and played in the NFL. He later coached powerhouse teams at Ripon Christian. Fasani recently stepped down as coach at that school to move back to Placer County, and he said at Golden 1 Center on Thursday while watching Ripon Christian compete for a basketball championship that he wants to get back into coaching, though he did not specify if he meant head coaching.
Birch and Sherman are on-campus coaches at Del Oro, longtime football guys. Sherman is a graduate of the school, The Bee’s 2005 Defensive Player of the Year.. Nixon had a tremendous run as head coach at Elk Grove and was the offensive coordinator at Sheldon in 2019. He has recently looked into the Del Campo job and has long been intrigued with Del Oro. There was mutual intrigue after Taylor stepped down before then-Del Oro principal Dan Gayaldo chose Walters.
And because the rumor mill never has an offseason, Taylor’s name has also been linked to Del Oro again, though he earlier this winter said he bristles at speculation and “if they would stop worrying about me and worry about their programs, they might win a few more games. All of the gossip is ridiculous. TMZ society.”
Other moves
▪ Justin Reber has returned to Rio Linda as head coach, replacing Jack Garceau, who in his short tenure led the Knights to a CIF State championship in 2018 and stepped down to spend more time with family. Reber was the head coach at Rio Linda in 2014 when the Knights went 10-3. He then had coaching stops at Sac High, El Dorado and last season at Bella Vista, his greatest challenge.
This is a good hire for Rio Linda, who now wants to keep Reber for more than one season.
▪ Jason Tenner is the new coach at yet-to-open West Park High in Roseville. Tenner was head coach at Ponderosa for a stretch, including beating Bee No. 1 Grant in the 2007 playoffs, and he was an assistant in recent years at Sheldon. Another great hire.
▪ Spencer Hagan has been hired to lead Natomas High, and we’re wondering when he will schedule East Nicolaus, which has a new coach in Kramer Hagan. They are brothers. Kramer Hagan replaced Travis Barker, who won a ton at his alma mater.
▪ Leonard Casillas is the new coach at Mesa Verde, where he graduated from, excited to bring the Mavericks back to the postseason. Mesa Verde enjoyed championship teams in the 1980s and 1990s under Mike Gebhardt and Ron Barney.
▪ And there’s the ageless one, part-time coach, full-time comedian. Frank Negri is 85 and likes to remind that “It’s a good day. I’m still above ground!” Negri will assist Brad Hunkins as a play caller at Woodcreek. Negri won more than 200 games at Foothill, where he helped open the school in 1965, with stops at Roseville and Rio Linda. Negri on any sideline or on top of any coaching box is good for the sport.
A plumb football opening is Antelope, where Matt Ray stepped down after a string of playoff season.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 12:51 PM.