Hiring process delayed for CdM football opening

Corona del Mar High administrators have adjusted the timetable for hiring a new head football coach for the school.

Originally, Athletic Director Paul Orris hoped to have a new coach by the end of January, and was planning on interviewing prospective coaches in mid-January.

However, that schedule has been scrapped and Orris said the school would likely conduct its first round of interviews toward the end of January.

“In reality, after we sat down and started talking about it, that’s not going to be the case,” Orris said. “What I was initially hoping isn’t going to work that way.”

The main factor for the delay, Orris said, has been “not knowing what openings we have on our staff.

“Most schools at this time of year would not know unless someone had turned in retirement papers, and it’s pretty early in the process for that.”

Though it’s not required, school administrators have voiced a strong preference to hire a coach who will teach on-campus as well.

The school has received about 25 applications since the position opened in December, Orris said.

CdM began its coach search after firing Dick Freeman, who coached the Sea Kings for 11 seasons.

“It’s going to be a couple-month process before we have a finalized candidate,” Orris said Wednesday.

Scott Uhl, a Freeman assistant who coaches linebackers and strength and conditioning, has taken over the team’s off-season training in the interim.

— Soraya Nadia McDonald