Papin back in charge at Indy
Former Arena Football League standout was helping Cabrillo College
The grass clearly wasn’t greener for Steve Papin in his one season as Menlo-Atherton’s football coach.
But maybe it will be as he returns to his former home.
Papin is back at Independence, more than four months after he was dismissed by M-A because the Peninsula Athletic League power wanted “to go in a different direction.”
“I did some soul searching and thought about what Independence has meant to me for five years,” Papin said Monday. “It was kind of one of those things where I never should have left. I had a great time at M-A and it was a learning experience. But me leaving Independence didn’t have anything to do with anything negative. It was just me trying to better myself.”
In five seasons at Independence, Papin went from winning one game in his first year to 12 in his fifth.
In his brief stint at M-A, he led the Bears to the PAL Bay Division championship and the No. 4 seed in the Central Coast Section’s equity-based Division I playoffs, a campaign that ended with an overtime loss to Wilcox in the first round.
Papin conceded that he moped on the couch after being let go and wasn’t sure about his next move.
The former Arena Football League standout with the SaberCats spent time with Darren Arbet, his coach with the San Jose team who is now the head coach at Cabrillo College.
“I was helping out there, trying to figure things out,” Papin said. “I was either going to go to Cabrillo or take the year off.”
When Papin learned that the Independence job was open again, he decided to reapply. The 76ers went 0-10 last season under Felipe Avelar.
“Nothing was given to me,” Papin said. “I had to go through all the interviewing and the process. I said, ‘If they choose me, I’ll go back.’ The interview went well.”
Independence is scheduled to open the season Aug. 28 at home against Los Altos.