Prep Football: New Del Norte High coach has legend in corner

There is no better high-school-football-coaching tree to pluck from in San Diego than that of Oceanside’s legendary leader John Carroll.

He won 248 games, 13 San Diego Section championships, two state titles and appeared in 22 straight section semifinals before retiring after 26 years at the end of last season.

Being around that kind of success for six years couldn’t hurt. And that is exactly what Del Norte High has gotten with the hire of Patrick Coleman.

Expectations for the Nighthawks’ football program went soaring with the announcement of Coleman being named head football coach last week.

Coleman coached alongside Carroll as the defensive coordinator for the Pirates from 2008-2013, reaching the section finals every year and winning four of them.

“I feel like I have had the ultimate education as a coach,” said Coleman, who took over a depleted University City High program and turned it into a contender in three years before leaving to coach with Carroll at perennial power Oceanside. “I don’t know too many people that have had the experiences that I have had.”

Coleman, 47, beat out nearly 200 other applicants to replace Leigh Cole at Del Norte. Cole stepped down in December after four years and is now an assistant at St. Augustine. Coleman, who did not coach last season, teaches fine arts at Del Norte.

“Not coaching last year was my first year off in 16 years,” he said. “It was nice in some areas ... but when the football season came it was a little rough.”

Coleman wanted to be the first coach at Del Norte when it opened in 2008, but a hiring freeze kept that from happening. He then started coaching and teaching at Oceanside, where he became good friends with Carroll on and off the field. That friendship continues today.

“He is one of my best friends and a mentor on many levels in my life,” Coleman said. “He and I spent a lot of time outside of football together and I turn to him for advice even in my personal life ... To be able to have a living legend in your corner really can’t be matched.”

Coleman knows that the expectations for the Del Norte football program are even higher because of the Carroll connection, but he said he doesn’t feel any pressure because of it.

“I wouldn’t call it pressure as much as motivation,” he said.

Coleman said the Nighthawks will run a spread offense. He expects the team, which will be in Division III in the fall, to be competitive right away.

Del Norte reached the playoffs every season under Cole and won the Valley League title in 2013. Now the Nighthawks play in the much tougher Avocado East League.

“I think in the beginning we need to just believe we can do it,” Coleman said. “So, my job this year and right away is to have the team, parents, school and community say we are going to get this done. My (phrase) this year is ‘believe and achieve.’ We need to believe it first and then do the work we need to do to achieve it.”

Coleman, who recently purchased a home in Del Sur, said he plans on this being the final stop of his career, which has seen stints at Mira Mesa, University City and Oceanside.

“This is where I hope to retire,” he said. “There is nothing like teaching at Del Norte: the expectations, the staff leadership, the students, the campus environment. To me, it is the pinnacle of what high school education should be.”

Coleman has been married to his wife Michelle for 10 years. They have a 15-month-old son and they own a coffee cart business, Café Fusion, which serves coffee, pastries and gourmet food in business parks.