Muir's Revamped Coaching Staff Ushers in Rebuilding Season

Muir head football coach Ken Howard was ready to call it quits following the 2010 season. He wanted to spend more time with his family; his daughter was about to start high school.

But in the process of weighing his options, some internal snipping between his staff and administrators at Muir told Howard that his young assistants weren’t ready to take over the responsiblity of running a varsity high school football program on their own.

So Howard decided to come back for another season at Muir with a revamped staff that emphasizes on old school approach to the game.

“I decided I was going to stay,” Howard said. “We’d rebuild again, and I’d find the best coaches for these kids. … I think I did a good with that again.”

Joining Howard on the sidelines is a trio of assistant coaches with NFL playing experience. Offensive coordinator and running back coach Darik Holmes, uncle to , was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 1995 NFL Draft and played six seasons in the pros.

New defensive coordinator John Hardy played for the Chicago Bears during the 1991 season. Hardy was the junior varsity head coach last year. Stacy Harvey will coach the linebackers, and he played nine games for the Kansas City chiefs during the 1989 season.

Bobby Jenkins left St. Francis during the offseason to become the Mustangs’ defensive backs coach. Mike Ramirez moved up from the junior varsity ranks to coach the line. Ryan Graves Jr. returns as receiver coach. David Mitchell will help out Howard as assistant head coach in addition to his normal duties as quarterbacks coach. 

Howard said the main difference between this year’s staff and 2010’s lies in the coaches’ approach to the game.

“I think the maturity level as far as the older gentlemen — it’s old school football,” Howard said. “It’s hard-nose, go-get-it and we’re going to coach you up to the best of our ability.”

The Mustangs are headlined by one of the best wide receiver-running back combos in the Southland in Kevon Seymour and Tairen Owens. Seymour, a 4-star wide receiver according to Rivals.com, is one of the most explosive players in the San Gabriel Valley as he proved in rushing for four touchdowns as a wildcat quarterback in the f. Howard said Seymour currently has offers from 52 schools, a group that includes USC, UCLA and Florida.

Owens recently verbally committed to the University of Washington.

But despite the presence of Seymour and Owens, plenty of question marks surround the Mustangs. Muir returns only eight players from last year’s varsity squad, none of whom started on the offensive or defensive lines. Muir also must break in a new quarterback as Jeffrey Davis graduated.

Right now, Josh Washington and Mark Samuels are splitting snaps at quarterback, but don’t be surprised to see Seymour line up under center every now and then as the Mustangs look for any way to get the ball in their top playmaker's hands.

The team’s inexperience on the offensive line is Howard’s biggest concern, however, and justifiably so considering the Mustangs currently boast a unit featuring just two players with varsity experience: Guillermo Villasenor and Laurence Lopez.