Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009
Prep Football: Crow lands coaching job at Atascadero
The former Templeton head coach will be the Greyhounds’ defensive coordinator
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closeDon Crow was a hot coaching commodity.
Soon after losing his position in late May as the head football coach at Templeton High, Crow was fielding calls from coaches around San Luis Obispo County. His 25 years of coaching diversity was in demand, leaving him with plenty of options to choose from.
His leading suitors, Atascadero and Morro Bay, were both logical landing spots. Ultimately the choice came down to which made for the perfect fit.
Crow found that at Atascadero where it was announced Thursday he will be the Greyhounds’ new defensive coordinator.
“It’s a chance to be a coordinator in the PAC 7 and work with guys in the PAC 7,” Crow said. “A good friend of mine (Chris Allen) coached there in the ’90s. It’s closers to home. A lot of things played into it.”
The choice was also ideal for Greyhounds head coach Vic Cooper, who had an opening on his staff and has been trying to land Crow for years.
“He has massive experience,” Cooper said. “He’s coached at all different levels and coached both sides of the ball. If you look at his track record, he’s won everywhere he’s been and it was a no-brainer to see if we could get him here.”
Cooper finally got his coach and announced the change to his team three days ago.
But even though there is little over a month before practice begins, both parties expect this to be a minor shakeup. Crow brings continuity with his defensive scheme because it’s nearly identical to the one the Greyhounds run.
“(His style) is very close to what we’re doing,” Cooper said. “That was part of what made it an easy choice. The things he likes to do are pretty much the same things we’re doing at Atascadero. It’s very similar. The only thing that really changes is terminology.”
After spending five years coaching Templeton to a 39-16 record, Crow was available because of events surrounding teacher layoffs within the Templeton Unified School District.
Initially, Crow, who teaches P.E. at the high school, was one of the 32 teachers notified in March they would receive pink slips. After a few fortunate events, Crow regained a teaching position — he’ll teach P.E. at the middle school — but it cost him his coaching position.
Once the dust settled and Crow knew he would be teaching in the fall, several schools inquired about his coaching availability.
Atascadero’s proximity, the Greyhounds’ success, a similar coaching philosophy and his familiarity with Cooper all played into Crow’s decision.
“Atascadero has some good kids, and Vic is a good guy to coach with,” Crow said. “I’ve spent some time with him the last few weeks and I’m looking forward to it.”
Don’t expect Crow to make too many wholesale changes to the Greyhounds’ defensive front. Atascadero returns the majority of its starters from the secondary and defensive line.
One noticeable difference is the Greyhounds no longer have star linebackers Trevor Holloway and Nick Tenhaeff and star safety Michael Lombardi, who all graduated last month.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Crow said. “One good thing is there is a rich tradition. I don’t want to go in there and screw it up. The kids expect to be good and win games.”
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