UFC champ takes reins
Pending district approval, which is expected today, mixed martial arts star Daniel Cormier to lead CCS powerhouse
Daniel Cormier had a few minutes to chat Wednesday about his new job — the one drawing national headlines — before going on the Fox Sports 1 airwaves for “UFC Tonight.”
The light heavyweight champion and Fox television host has accepted Gilroy High’s offer to become its new wrestling coach, taking the reins of the storied program from Greg Varela, who stepped down last month.
The hire is expected to become official Thursday night at a district board meeting.
“It’s one of the best high school programs in the entire country,” said Cormier, who lives in Gilroy with his wife, Salina, and two children and coaches youth wrestling in San Jose. “Coach Varela has done such a fantastic job of building a foundation of a great team that when the opportunity presented itself, I just wanted to do something in the town.”
Gilroy has won an unprecedented 16 consecutive Central Coast Section team championships and is coming off a second-place finish at state.
Cormier, 39, made it clear he isn’t going at this alone.
“I have some great coaches who are coming on staff with me,” said Cormier, noting Kyle Crutchmer, a two-time All-American while at Oklahoma State, and Shawn Bunch, a twotime All-American while at Edinboro University, among others.
“Those are the types of guys who should coach at a school that is as prestigious as Gilroy High School,” added Cormier, who wrestled at Oklahoma State and is a two-time Olympian.
Gilroy principal Marco Sanchez also will help as a volunteer assistant. Like Cormier, Sanchez is a former Olympic wrestler.
“We have great people in place to help me when I am competing for the UFC championship,” Cormier said.
Cormier will compete for a championship July 7, moving up in weight class to take on heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 226.
He said that fighting and his other duties won’t affect his new job.
“I’ll be around the program starting right now,” Cormier said. “I want to make sure that I give the kids the best opportunity to be successful come next year.”
Cormier plans to donate his season stipend — which Sanchez said is just south of $3,000 — back to the program.
Before he went back to his television duties Wednesday, Cormier wanted to make one more point.
“I’d like to thank my wife, Salina, for allowing me to do this,” he said. “I’ve got a full plate. I’m a commentator. I’m a coach. I’ve got a wrestling program. I’m a fighter. I’m a TV host. She is allowing me to do this. I truly, truly am grateful for it.”
Oak Grove coach
Marcus Reese, a star linebacker at Oak Grove two decades ago before moving on to UCLA, was named head football coach at his high school alma mater Monday.
“We’re really excited to have him,” co-athletic director Rick Huck said. “He’s had opportunities to coach at other places. But he’s made it clear Oak Grove is near and dear to his heart.”
Reese takes over from Jay Braun, who was dismissed in mid-February, more than two months after he cursed at an administrator along the sideline during a game and left before its conclusion. Braun cited stomach issues as the reason for his early departure.
Jack Hamner, Braun’s East Side Teachers Association representative, said at the time of the coach’s dismissal that the union planned to take the case to arbitration. It’s unclear if that is still the case because neither Hamner nor Braun returned text messages this week.
Reese was on Braun’s staff the past five seasons and was among the program’s old guard who spoke out against the coach during more than two months of public testimonials, both for and against Braun, at district board meetings.
“I’m never one who wants to talk about somebody in public,” Reese said Monday. “I’m always one who wants to talk about something under closed doors. But this is how the situation went, forced me to go that way. Honestly, with that whole situation, I’m just trying to look forward, help the kids out and that is it.”
Football recruiting
Noa Ngalu said the choice was simple. MenloAtherton’s 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman loved the atmosphere, the program’s commitment to preparing its players for life beyond football and, of course, the aggressive style of defense.
So Ngalu, the three-star defensive tackle who will be a senior in the fall, called Washington coach Chris Petersen and told him he was accepting his offer to become a Husky.
“It’s the best fit for me,” Ngalu said Tuesday. “They build for life. Some colleges, they do everything for the student-athlete. Then the student-athletes, when they go to the real world, they don’t know what to do. They told me they’ll help us through it.”
Football scheduling
Menlo-Atherton received approval from the CCS this week to travel to Colorado in September to play Valor Christian, a team coached by former Stanford and NFL standout Ed McCaffrey. Valor will play host to M-A on Sept. 21, replacing Oak Grove on the Bears’ schedule. Oak Grove will now play Oakland Tech. M-A coach Adhir Ravipati commended Oak Grove and Huck for being accommodating through the process.
Valor, coming off an 11-1 season, is led by three-star quarterback Luke McCaffrey, Ed’s son and Christian McCaffrey’s younger brother.
“We’re still getting our district approval done now in terms of taking the kids out of state,” Ravipati said. “But we got the CCS approval, which is the big one that we needed.”