In a matter of less than 48 hours, the Justin-Siena High (Napa) football program has undergone a significant shakeup.
No sooner do they mutually part ways with Rich Cotruvo. Gee, that sounds like a Jed York/Trent Baalke euphemism after the San Francisco 49ers mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Cotruvo has been hired as the new head coach at Terra Linda and less than 48 hours later, Brandon LaRocco is named Cotruvo’s replacement. LaRocco’s hiring was confirmed in Friday’s online edition of the Napa Valley Register.
Well, those Justin-Terra Linda matchups just became much more compelling. I only know LaRocco in passing but I don’t get the feeling that he will be the Braves version of Jim Tomsula. LaRocco speaks in complete sentences so that’s already an improvement. LaRocco also has more leadership ability in his left toe than Tomsula has in his whole body but I digress.
Though he is a Fairfield native and Vacaville resident, LaRocco has been a Justin-Siena football lifer. He graduated from Justin in 1998. LaRocco’s senior year as a player was Cotruvo’s first as the Braves head coach for what turned out to be an enormously successful 19-year stint. LaRocco was a JV assistant for three seasons and a varsity assistant for eight seasons, coaching both offensive and defensive lines along with special teams. LaRocco was also the freshmen head man in 2014.
LaRocco was described in the Register by athletic director George Nessman as a highly respected faculty member. That statement might sound like hyperbole but I can give evidence that it is not. LaRocco was the Braves track and field head coach from 2009-2013. In that span, Justin went from having 30 kids in the program to 95 four years later. The 2013 team finished second in MCAL dual meets. The boys finished second at the league championships and won the CIF North Coast Section Class A title. The Justin girls were section runner-ups, missing first place by a mere two points. The Braves qualified 18 athletes for the NCS Meet of Champions, most in school history in a single season.
So you might be asking, how does that translate to LaRocco as a football coach? You hear the term “buy in” get thrown around like candy. However, any coach that gets numbers to increase that dramatically on his watch, brings instant credibility in his leadership.
Make no mistake, going from assistant coach to head coach is an adjustment. You get both the glory and the headaches. I know track is a different sport than football but the fact that LaRocco has experience leading a program will serve him well.
In replacing Cotruvo, LaRocco is “the guy that followed the guy.” Cotruvo’s resume has been well-documented: Six NCS titles and a 144-74 record from 1997-2015. You also have to realize that before Cotruvo arrived, the program was a hot mess going 27-67 from 1987-1996 under four different head coaches (Randall McClure, Robbie Gomes, G.L. Siner and Rob Parker). LaRocco has seen both the highs and lows, the former as a coach and mostly the latter as a player.
Justin’s administration moved very quickly, so quickly that LaRocco looked like he was the imminent successor the moment Cotruvo stepped aside. There are two ways to look at that. On the downside, you could say, did Justin move too fast without looking at other options? On the plus side, you could say, Justin knew what it wanted, saw that its ideal choice was right under its nose so why not move fast to snatch him up?
The easy angle for saying this is a good hire is that LaRocco is an alum. That quality is an easy sell to initially get parents, alums, boosters, etc. on board but that alone does not make someone a good hire.
Replacing a coach with a decorated resume like Cotruvo is hard but kids are more resilient than you think. The fact that LaRocco is stepping in, is a good sign because while he may be different than Cotruvo in certain areas, the program is not likely to undergo wholesale changes.
LaRocco will double as the defensive coordinator and have former Braves quarterback Tyler Streblow as the offensive coordinator running a version of the Houston split-back veer offense.
The key will be who he surrounds himself with as assistant coaches.
I have no doubt that LaRocco is ready to be a head coach after nearly two decades of laboring in the vines as an assistant. Since my beats were outside of the City of Napa, I only saw and/or interacted with LaRocco occasionally but I know the man well enough to say that he leads and speaks with conviction. That quality will serve him well.
The wild card is which assistant coaches does he add to his staff? Though most people fixate on head coaches, assistant coaches are vital. On a local level, I know you won’t get any argument on the matter from the active Napa Valley football head coaches: Troy Mott (Napa), Larry Singer (American Canyon), Brandon Farrell (St. Helena) and Mike Ervin (Calistoga).
Cotruvo built the ship, LaRocco’s role is to keep it on course.
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