Many things bear watching with Wessman hire as Napa High football coach

What was a high school football program that was a picture of stability which many
people envied has become a revolving door.

Richie Wessman, not to be confused with the 1970s fictional TV character Richie
Cunningham from Happy Days, is looking to bring happier times back to the Napa High
football program. Wessman was officially named the Grizzlies third head coach in as
many seasons.

Wessman’s hiring was approved by the Napa Valley Unified School District Board of
Trustees on Thursday evening as announced by Superintendent Dr. Rosanna Mucetti
and interim Napa High principal Frank Silva. Napa had just four coaches between
1979-2016 (Les Franco, Bob Herlocker, Jerry Dunlap, Troy Mott). In between Mott’s
much-publicized resignation and Wessman’s hiring, Jesus Martinez and Tom
Petithomme, each spent one season as head coach. Petithomme is the Grizzlies’
co-athletic director along with Darci Ward.

So who is Richie Wessman? He is a former University of Southern California backup
quarterback who has coached at every level from high school to college to NFL.
Wessman spent five seasons as a quality control coach and administrative assistant
with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans (2009-2013). He has served as a graduate assistant
for both Clemson and Mississippi. He was also an offensive assistant at USC from
2003-2004.

Wessman spent time at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, which is a Division II
school. He coached quarterbacks and wide receivers along with being a recruiting
coordinator. Wessman spent the 2016 season as the head coach at Ravenwood
High in Brentwood, Tennessee, leading the Raptors to a 7-6 overall record with the
team advancing to the third round of the playoffs. After that season, he moved to Italy
to coach a semi-pro team.

Wessman is currently at Ramstein High School, which is located on Ramstein Air
Force Base in Germany, teaching physical education along with coaching football and
soccer. Wessman is slated to arrive in Napa next week and will be a full-time PE teacher
to go along with his coaching duties.

“It will be an amazing culture and atmosphere in which everyone involved will feel a part
of something special,” Wessman said in a press release. “We are going to win a lot of
football games while playing a style of football that is fun to watch, making Memorial
Stadium the place to be on Friday nights in fall for everyone in the community. I am so
excited.

“The goal is to rebuild and create a championship program, so the first step is to develop
a deep understanding of the people and the current program. From here, we’ll continue
to develop relationships while we design and implement our road map to success. I
look forward to collaborating with the students, staff and parents as we work towards
these goals.”

There’s a few things to unpack from this hire. For openers, we don’t know the man other
than Google searches so it’s hard to make any grand proclamation of whether the hire
is good or bad. It’s not the hire that I worry about, it’s the climb he faces. Given that
Wessman has experience at every level of football, his acumen for the sport cannot be
questioned but being well-travelled has to be a concern. Napa is a program in need of
stability. Is this going to be another short stint? Given that this job is in need of a rebuild,
will he have the patience?  I don’t know the answer to those questions but they bear
asking.

The other question that bears asking is what type of a staff can he assemble? The
program has been through a lot of turmoil. I’m not going to rehash in depth but here’s
a thumbnail sketch: a) Mott’s resignation that stemmed from philosophical differences
with the administration on how to rebuild the program as a result of a hazing scandal,
b) Hiring Martinez in the 11th hour to avert a cancellation of the 2017 season, c)
Martinez, who was a long time JV assistant, was a walkon coach that was fired in June
2018 and replaced by Petithomme and d) The mascot changing from Indians to Grizzlies.
Getting a viable group of assistants will be a challenge.

Former Napa High quarterback Kirk Anderson, who graduated in 1996, is a former
Mott assistant was reportedly a candidate for the job. Anderson spent last season as a
Wood (Vacaville) assistant and could be the Wildcats’ next head coach in lieu of Carlos
Meraz’s resignation that was reported in the Vacaville Reporter. The question becomes,
did Anderson turn down Napa or did Napa turn down Anderson? Only Anderson himself
could answer that question but my money would be on the former. Many Napa fans
were clamoring for Mott to return but I don’t think there was ever a chance of that
happening. I could sell you beachfront property in Wyoming, except I can’t.

Wessman has some heavy lifting to do once he gets here. The good news is that the
program has nowhere to go but up after going 0-10 for the first time since 1955. Last
year’s varsity roster had just 28 players, not good for a school of 1,700 enrollment
(give or take a few). The key is getting the community and school excited about football.
In case you haven’t noticed, Napa High football is a personal subject to many people in
these parts.

Another overarching question is, what can he establish in terms of a strength and
conditioning program, which was once the hallmark for Napa’s success? What type of
base scheme will he install? For 40 years, Napa was an option based team but went to
a spread passing game last year. The offense had its moments but it was clear they did
not have the personnel to execute at a high level. What type of base defense will he
install? That unit was a sieve last season, giving up 459 points in 10 games.

What Wessman needs most when August arrives is early success. The Grizzlies have
four nonleague games, two of which are against Nevada Union (Grass Valley) and
Union Mine (Manteca). Both clubs went 3-7 and beat Napa 59-34 and 55-12
respectively. The other two vacancies are to be determined. As far as the Vine Valley
Athletic League, rival Vintage rules the roost and American Canyon is not going away
any time soon.

Wessman is putting on an optimistic front and he should. However, it’s one thing to be
optimistic in January. How does the program react the first time (insert opponent) goes
up 14-0?

We shall see what the next coaching tenure of Napa football brings.