Valor Christian’s football coach exits

Sherman’s team went 57-11, won three 5A state titles in 5 years

Rod Sherman is out as the Valor Christian football coach, the school announced Friday.

In the five seasons under Sherman, the Eagles went 57-11 and won three Class 5A state championships.

Valor Christian was undefeated in the regular season this year and earned the top seed in the playoffs before being upset by Grandview at home in the quarterfinals. It was only the second postseason loss in the program’s 10-year history.

Prior to being named head coach in 2013, Sherman served as the team’s offensive coordinator and helped the team win four straight titles from 200912. He was also the school’s athletic director from 2007-14, and then the director of institutional Rod advancement Sherman from 2015

to the present. During Sherman’s tenure as coach, the Eagles emerged as the state’s preeminent bigschool football power, as the program churned out a long list of Division I recruits including running back Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), defensive back Eric Lee Jr. (Nebraska), quarterback Dylan McCaffrey (Michigan) and most recently quarterback Blake Stenstrom (Colorado).

Before moving to Colorado, Sherman was the athletic director at Orange Lutheran High

School, where he built the Lancers into a Southern California powerhouse.

In an emailed statement, Sherman said: “I will always treasure my time at Valor, but it has become apparent to me that this is now the right time to step down and pursue other op- portunities.”

The school’s search for a new head coach begins immediately.

Sherman and Valor Christian athletic director Jamie Heiner did not return numerous calls for further comment about the coach’s departure.