‘I came, I saw, I conquered!’: Two more Sacramento-area prep football coaches are out
Andrew Bettencourt is stepping aside from high school football coaching at Cosumnes Oaks to pursue other career ambitions, to be a father, to watch the sport from afar for a year at least.
John Wiley is bowing out of the same sort of grinder role as head coach at Christian Brothers to better prioritize the old adage of, “football, family, faith” — and to distance himself and his star receiver son Jet Wiley from any accusations of “daddy ball.”
And so it goes as two more area coaches since the conclusion of the spring season have stepped aside, bringing the total to 12 regional football coaches who have stepped down or were not invited back with yearly at-will contracts by school administration. By any measure, it’s the biggest turnaround in such a short time in a lot of years.
Bettencourt coached two seasons at Cosumnes Oaks, reaching the playoffs in the 2019 campaign and going 2-1 in this shortened spring season. His players loved competing for him, which was clear, but he clearly didn’t make a lot of friends within the Delta League.
Bettencourt stood by his stance that he wasn’t in this to make friends. Things got testy enough that in the last year, there was plenty of he-said, they-said on both sides; Bettencourt to rival coaches within the Elk Grove Unified School District, and rivals to him, regarding any notion of recruiting players to attend Cosumnes Oaks, or offseason conditioning. It got to the point lawyers were involved.
A free spirit who never shied away from a verbal spat or an intense football showdown, Bettencourt was many things, but he wasn’t boring.
“The most hated guy in coaching!” is how Cosumnes Oaks quarterback star Anthony Grigsby put it.
Said Bettencourt with a laugh, “I came, I saw, I conquered!”
He added, “I came to CO to do three things: Change the culture, do it my way and piss off a lot of coaches while doing it, and win games. We did all of that. I had a great time coaching those kids. We made the sport fun for kids. You look around and it doesn’t always look fun. There are a lot of guys who just don’t know how to coach. I need to expand my career, be there for my young family (including kids Forrest and Oakley). I’ll coach again, I’m sure. Shoot. I may return and regain my throne!”
Wiley lasted two seasons at Christian Brothers with the initial aim of seeing his son all the way through. Jet Wiley is one of the state’s elite receiver prospects as a sophomore. Wiley will watch the kid stretch the field from the bleachers while also coaching his 12-year-old daughter Jai in golf. Or maybe she’ll coach him up.
“The biggest thing for me is, in talking to my family in the last week or so, is it’s hard to focus on family with so much going on, and 16 months of all this football and the pandemic took a toll,” Wiley said. “What do coaches say? Football, family, faith? I focused too much on football.”
That focus included creating an offense that wound up becoming one of the most prolific in the state this spring. This included some deep balls to the Wiley kid, and that resulted in cries that the coach was in it for only one kid.
“In the end, this will be better for Jet with me not being his head coach,” Wiley said. “It’ll remove the myth that I’m in it for ‘daddy ball’ because playing for a parent isn’t easy. There’s a lot of pressure. He has to be better than the others, and he has to hear, ‘daddy ball!’ or anything like he’s only succeeding because I’m his coach. That’s the life of a coach.
“I have a family at home, and Jai is the best athlete in the family. Now I get to spend more time with her now, taking her to lessons, golfing with her, being a dad.”
Wiley said what a lot of coaches have about this chaotic spring and COVID-19 testing. It wore out enough coaches that some stepped out of the fire.
“It literally was an hour-by-hour thing with COVID and all the challenges,” Wiley said. “We get tested, then continue to make sure no one is within 6-feet of each other, then wait for the results, practice, then hold your breath to see if your opponent cleared. It was taxing. The list of coaches stepping down is growing, and a lot of them are great coaches.”
Who stepped down, why and what’s next:
Mike Alberghini, Grant
Section’s winningest coach, wanted another season as head coach, his 31st as head coach. Longtime assistant Carl Reed takes over.
Chris Bean, Lincoln
After several strong seasons at Lincoln, Bean isn’t going far. He’ll be the founding varsity coach at new Twelve Bridges High.
Andrew Bettencourt, Cosumnes Oaks
Revved up the Wolfpack in his two seasons in charge, wowing his players while turning off rival coaches.
Eric Cavaliere, Oak Ridge
After 12 playoff teams in 14 seasons, Cavaliere didn’t want to be a head coach any more. Expects to remain within the program in a reduced role.
Taylor Duncan, Union Mine
From line coach to head coach, Duncan kept the Diamondbacks formidable.
Jeff Evans, Granite Bay
He replaced an iconic coach in Ernie Cooper, won a ton, and stepped down to let someone else handle the head grind with big-name replacement Joe Cattolico taking over.
Aaron Gingery, Yuba City
Championing the theme of “Yuba Tough” and backing it up wore on Gingery, who made the Honkers a force again.
Reggie Harris, Antelope
Well-regarded by players and rival coaches, Harris lasted just one season before his dismissal, tied to background check issues.
Terry Logue/Scott Savoie, Bear River
Time to plant Easter eggs for grandkids for the duo who coached nearly 30 years together.
Steve Smyte, Davis
Worked wonders with the Blue Devils and called this his most-challenging/difficult season.
Mike Struebing, Vista del Lago
Eight strong seasons as head coach was enough to prompt him to take at least a year off to be a dad and husband.
John Wiley, Christian Brothers
Soaked in the big Holy Bowl win in 2019 and led an entertaining club this spring but wants more family time.