Grizzlies name new coach
Williams was defensive coordinator this season
Granite Hills High School announced Dan Williams as their new head coach of varsity football Wednesday afternoon in front of players and staff.
Granite Hills High School announced Dan Williams as its new head coach of varsity football Wednesday afternoon in front of players and staff.
Williams, the team’s former defensive coordinator, was received well and spoke for almost 10 minutes about his plans for the future of the Granite Hills’ football program.
“I know what it takes to make a winning program,” said Williams in his speech. Williams coached previously in San Diego, where he coached under five different coaches and won five CIF San Diego Division-i championships.
Prior to coming to Granite Hills to run the defense this season, Williams was the head coach at Vista High School. In 12 seasons, Williams was 77-61-2. In 2010 his team went 12-2 and won the Division I championship. In 2015, Vista was 4-7 under Williams.
Williams spoke with confidence about the future of Granite Hills and encouraged players to thank former head coach Marc Salazar for
what he had done for the program in the past few years.
GHHS Principal Apolinar Marroquin said that Salazar came to him after this year’s dismal season and stepped down. The Grizzlies finished the season 2-8 and did not win a single game in the East Sequoia League.
One big change that will be made under Williams is to the offense. Williams plans on putting in a pro-style offense with a lot of different formations and running five to six plays. He will also work on getting the offense to go no-huddle.
Defense was one of the few bright spots for the Grizzlies this past season, most notably during their game against the undefeated Division-vi Strathmore Spartans. Against the Spartans, who had been continuously putting up 20 or more points and shutting teams out, the Grizzlies held them to just 12 points.
Marroquin said that game against Strathmore was “very influential” to Williams being hired.
“That Strathmore game,” said Marroquin, “the grit I saw of our kids. What we saw in the first half and some of that second half, a lot came from coach Williams preparing his defense and our athletes.
They knew what to expect and what was coming. They shut it down. It built motivation and excitement and an energy that we hadn’t seen yet. I think, more than anything, it gave us hope.”
Another part of why Williams was hired, was because of his experience in football. As a head coach Williams won a Division I championship, as an assistant he won three, and as a player he won one.
Williams told the football players on Wednesday, that he knows how to get kids into college and that nine of his former players have played professionally.
“He brings that experience that we’re looking for,” said Marroquin.