CdM close to naming coach

Corona del Mar High’s search for a football coach appears to be close to being finalized.

A source familiar with one of three candidates said Thursday afternoon that Trabuco Hills offensive coordinator Chad Johnson was told to meet with CdM school officials around 2 about the Sea Kings’ position.

The other two candidates who interviewed this week along with Johnson were Irvine offensive coordinator Erik Terry and a coach from Colorado, said a source close to the situation asking for anonymity.

Johnson, 29, also strength and conditioning coach, helped the Mustangs reach the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division championship game last fall. Trabuco Hills lost, 13-12, to El Dorado at Orange Coast College. The Mustangs (12-2) won the Sea View League title with a 5-0 record and received the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. They outscored their first three opponents, 120-16, to reach the final.

David Peterson, CdM’s acting athletic director with Paul Orris recovering from recent brain aneurysm surgery, said Thursday that nothing has been made official.

“I can’t report anything,” said Peterson, also CdM’s assistant principal, who didn’t comment on whether he met with Johnson Thursday. “You know things take some time and we’re waiting to hear back from the [Newport-Mesa Unified School] district.”

Johnson, a history teacher, played football at Hofstra University, where he was an honorable mention All-American kicker.

Johnson, who played football at El Toro High, appears to be the favorite to take over for former Corona del Mar Coach Dick Freeman, who said he was fired in December after 12-plus seasons, his last a 4-5 season in which the Sea Kings missed the CIF playoffs for the first time since the 2003 season.

Terry, 38, has never been a head coach before on the varsity level, holding offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator positions. Terry was the offensive coordinator during Irvine’s section runner-up finish in 1999.

In the last couple of years, Terry has been legendary coach Terry Hennigan’s right-hand man.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].