Time for Welch to quit after latest controversy
Coach needs to be held accountable for the actions of three assistants who have been arrested.
Harry Welch is a championship-winning football coach who demands complete control in all facets of his program. He calls the shots, big and small, in just about every situation, from game decisions on offensive and defensive plays to choosing his team’s stat keepers.
And he hires whom he wants as his assistant coaches.
With that kind of power and authority comes responsibility, and it’s time for Welch to be held accountable for what’s gone terribly wrong within the state champion Santa Margarita High football program.
Since Dec. 16, when Santa Margarita won the CIF Division I bowl game, three assistant coaches have lost their jobs after arrests on suspicion of drug possession.
Two varsity assistants were fired in December after it was publicly revealed they had pleaded guilty to marijuana possession charges three months earlier.
The latest arrest came Saturday, with Kevin Orton, a junior varsity coach, being held on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Orton was immediately put on unpaid leave, and Wednesday the Catholic Diocese of Orange said he was no longer an employee of the school.
This stunning turn of events is sad and unfortunate, but Welch needs to follow Orton out the door. He needs to resign as head football coach.
The credibility of the school’s mission in its community is being threatened. One of Welch’s prime objectives for coaching — trying to turn boys into ethical, responsible young men — is in question.
Good coaches demand that their players be held accountable for their actions. Welch, as leader of Santa Margarita’s football program, has rightfully taken some bows for many championships won in nearly a quarter-century as a high school head coach in Southern California. And he’s just as responsible for mistakes made in putting together his football staff.
Welch has not returned messages left for him for more than a month. That could be because he has his own problems. He’s in his third week of administrative leave after the Diocese of Orange and Santa Margarita began an internal review following an allegation that he pushed or shoved a player in December, about a week before his team won that bowl game.
The Orange County district attorney’s office rejected filing criminal charges after sheriff’s investigators conducted an investigation, so maybe that allegation lacks merit. But what has tipped the scales against Welch remaining with the program is his failure to identify and act on issues within his program that might be even more important than winning or losing.
Welch is one of the most successful coaches in the history of California high school football. Only he has guided three schools to state championship bowl victories. For 23 seasons at Canyon Country Canyon, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s and the last two at Santa Margarita, he has been looked upon as a master teacher and coach.
Brian Stiman, who coached with Welch for 12 years at Canyon, said, “Part of his success comes from doing what works best for him, and it’s being in control of every aspect of a program.”
Indeed, one of Welch’s favorite lines last season was, “I always feel when we reach the end of the envelope, I push the envelope further.”
It’s time to stop pushing the envelope.
I’ve covered high school sports for more than 30 years and I’ve never before called for a coach to resign. I’ve also known Welch since the 1980s. He’s a good man, a fabulous English teacher, a brilliant football coach. I still believe in him, but it’s time for him to step aside.