Cotruvo stepping away from coaching but leaves door open for return

The Bay Area high school coaching profession is losing a great one.

The only question is, if Rich Cotruvo were a DVR, is his coaching career a stop button
or a pause button? In a story that appeared in the online version of Napa Valley Register
on Wednesday evening, Cotruvo told the Terra Linda High powers that be that he is
retiring from his position as Trojans’ head football coach. Cotruvo, however, will
remain at Terra Linda, where he has coached the last three seasons, as a health and
physical education teacher. The Trojans have gone 19-15 with two CIF North Coast
Section playoff wins in Cotruvo’s three seasons.

The 64-year old Cotruvo is most famous for his time at Justin-Siena (Napa), where he
coached for 19 seasons. In that span, the Braves went 144-74 with six NCS titles. To
appreciate that success, you have to understand where Justin football was before that
time. From 1987-1996, the Braves were a hot mess, going through four coaching
changes and a 27-67. I feel entitled to describe the program of that time as such
because I played there as a student-athlete for three of those years (1987-1989). Before
his Justin years, Cotruvo coached at Acalanes (Lafayette) and Monte Vista (Danville).

In the spring of 2016, Cotruvo got Jim Harbaugh-ed in that the administration never
said he got fired. Cotruvo never said he resigned. The public answer is that both sides
mutually parted ways. Sounds like a dismissal to me but I digress.

I’m not going to reveal every Cotruvo quote verbatim and you can only read so much
into newspaper quotes but here are a few that catch my attention:

“I love coaching. I love being with the kids and building something. But I’m tired.
I need to recharge my batteries. I just think the stars are aligned where I need to take a
break and maybe have some time to play some golf and enjoy my family a little bit more
and not be tied down in the fall.”

“This fall is going to be a new horizon for me. I may love it. I may hate it. I don’t know. I
just know that I want to finish my teaching career without having to coach football and
having that extra time.”

“I’m just not ready to say I’m retiring from coaching. I’m taking a break from coaching.
Once I’m retired from teaching, I want to reassess. Hopefully if things go right, if I finish
my teaching career and retired, if the right situation comes up, I’d love to go back and
coach.”

There’s a few things I unpack from these quotes. For openers, coaching a high school
football program is not an August to November endeavor. It is a 12-month a year journey
from strength & conditioning to summer 7-on-7 to grade checks. In addition, with the
divorce rate being greater odds than a coin flip, football coaches are like surrogate
fathers to some kids.

For Cotruvo, coaching has been a way of life but my goodness for the last 21 years, he
has commuted from his home in Walnut Creek, CA, to either Napa or Marin County.
Throw in a full day of teaching and coaching, I can easily fathom where someone needs
a break away from coaching. In a sense, I’m surprised this did not happen sooner.  Oh,
I didn’t even address dealing with administration and parents that do not share the
same vision as you.

The other layer of this has me playing conspiracy theorist. Cotruvo did not rule out a
return to coaching. If Brett Favre can come out of retirement, anyone can. There is a
school on the corner of Jefferson Street and Lincoln Avenue named Napa High that
needs a football coach. However, knowing him like I do, he would want the likes of
Steve Vargus, Steve Shifflett and Ian MacMillan to join him. Those guys, however, have
a great situation at St. Helena High under head coach Brandon Farrell. With the talent
the Saints have returning, I don’t see those guys vacating their current positions. OK,
that is wild speculation. That is my hot take for the week.  

Cotruvo is smart, however, to leave the door ajar to a return to coaching. In most any
walk of life, when we enter the next phase, we only know what we leave behind.
Whereas we don’t know what the next phase will be until we enter it. Most every retired
coach that I know echo the same sentiment, they miss the camaraderie among players
and assistant coaches but they don’t miss the lifestyle.

I had the chance to cover some of Cotruvo’s games, mostly between 1998-2000, but
followed his teams from afar from other beats in my years as a sports reporter. While
you can make the argument that Cotruvo was blessed with great assistant coaches, I
can counter that with any head coach worth his salt understands the value of having
quality assistants. I can’t speak for his tenures at Acalanes, Monte Vista and Terra
Linda but what he did to change the culture at Justin speaks volumes.

Whether it’s returning to the sideline to draw up 16-veer or planning his strategy on
the 9th hole, Cotruvo will be a winner just like he has been on the scoreboard and
making an impact on youngsters’ lives.

Talented players produce regardless of system

There are some phrases that bring out the cynical side.

For me, one of those terms as it relates to sports is “system player” or “it’s not
the player, it’s the system” or “he’s great in this system but put him in another
system and he would be” anything from average to lousy.

The notion behind this argument is certain players reach a level of performance
solely because of the system rather than their natural skill. The idea is most
commonly brought up in football as it pertains to quarterbacks but could apply
to any position. The term “system player” is used in basketball as well. The
term is commonly referenced in team sports because there are moving parts
that need to work in concert for a scheme to work.

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area most of my life (40 of 46 years to
be exact), the two people that are commonly linked to this term are former
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and current Golden State
Warriors point guard Steph Curry.

Montana, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, led the 49ers to four Super
Bowl titles in eight seasons (1981-1989). Curry, who has become the most
prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history, has led the Warriors to three NBA titles
in the last four seasons.

For Montana, it is commonly assumed that Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense
was the reason for his success. Walsh’s offense was based around a short-to
-medium range passing game. Like most innovations, Walsh popularized his
offense based around limitations when was an assistant under Paul Brown
with the Cincinnati Bengals. The team had a deficient running game and a
quarterback, Virgil Carter, with limited arm strength and as a result focused
the passing game around short routes and getting rid of the ball quickly.

It has also been argued that Montana, whose arm strength was good but not
great, had Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice to throw passes to along with
running Roger Craig, whom many believe should have a bust in Canton,
Ohio. I can debunk that argument. Montana led the 49ers to two Super
Bowls before Rice arrived and one before Craig was drafted. When Montana
was traded to Kansas City, he had Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen,
who while still valuable, was on the backend of his career. At that time, the
Chiefs had decent but not great receivers like J.J. Birden, Willie Davis and
tight end Keith Cash. With Montana, the Chiefs reached their first and only
AFC Title Game (1994) since winning Super Bowl IV until Saturday. The
point is, it took the Chiefs, who defeated Indianapolis 31-13 in the AFC
Divisional round, 25 years to return to that point.

Many fans outside of the Bay Area most prominently know the version of
Curry that has played under head coach Steve Kerr the past five years.
Compared to former coach Mark Jackson’s system, Kerr’s scheme is based
around ball movement as opposed to isolation under Jackson. In the process,
Curry, who recently surpassed Jason Terry on the all-time list for 3-pointers
made, has had the luxury of being paired with another historically great shooter
in Klay Thompson. The last three years, Kevin Durant, whom the Warriors
signed as a free agent from Oklahoma City, has joined the Warriors. Durant is
considered by some the best player in the NBA.

However, it should also be pointed out that Curry was hitting 3-pointers before
Thompson or Durant arrived and while playing in a scheme like Jackson’s that
was not as well-suited for him. Curry was also hitting 3-pointers when the
Warriors were struggling under Don Nelson.

Another “system player” argument that gets mentioned is NFL quarterback Matt
Cassel but you can somewhat intertwine this theory with New England Patriots
signal-caller Tom Brady. The Patriots drafted Brady in the sixth-round in 2000
and has led the franchise to five Super Bowl titles, more than any quarterback
in NFL history. Though some consider Brady the best quarterback of all time,
there are others that believe he would not be the player he is without the system
and culture fostered under head coach Bill Belichick.

In 2008, Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener at
Kansas City. Cassel replaced Brady and the Patriots went 11-5 but missed the
playoffs based on losing out on the tiebreaker to Miami, which won the AFC East
that year with the same record and beat New England twice. With Brady
returning healthy the next year, the Patriots traded Cassel to Kansas City,
where he had a couple decent years but has not recaptured his 2008 success.
Cassel has since been on five other teams and is the current backup in Detroit.
It could also be pointed out that Cassel’s success in 2008 not translating was
predictable because he was a career backup in college (USC) and only threw
34 career passes. Perhaps, there was a reason he was never a starter.

The overarching conclusion I draw is that while it is true that some systems will
get more out of a player’s ability than others, at some point you either have the
ability to perform or you don’t. As for the system argument, for one, any coach
worth his salt is going to put players in a position to succeed. For example, do
you honestly think any NBA coach worth his salt would ask Shaquille O’Neal to
camp out on the 3-point line and shoot? No.

Joe Montana is completing passes whether it’s the offense of Bill Walsh, Bill
Parcells or Mike Ditka because he could read defenses and throw accurately at
a high level. Steph Curry is hitting 3-pointers whether he’s playing for the Warriors
or Orlando Magic. Perhaps, Curry would not get the number of open looks but he
would still connect on more than plenty.

Pure and simple, at some point, it comes down to either the player has the ability
or he does not. The tools provided are irrelevant. For example, I have a brother
and cousin (shoutout Mike and Kevin) who are car enthusiasts. You could take a
three car garage, put the engine of a 1968 Camaro in each of them with the same
tools. Put Vince in one bay, Mike in another and Kevin in another. I’m not a car
enthusiast whereas Mike and Kevin have put cars together. I could be given the
same engine and tools but that doesn’t mean I’ll put the car together as well as
they can? In fact, you could bet money that I won’t.

In some cases, the term system player can be accurate but too many blind
assumptions get made when using the term.

I say, “System, Schmystem.” Talented players find ways to produce regardless
of system.

For college football playoffs, less is more a better solution than expansion

With the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama and
Clemson looming on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, followed by
the NCAA basketball tournament in March, you will hear two reactions.

Many people will swear by the NCAA Tournament in college basketball and swear at the
College Football playoff system.

I'm in the minority, while the College Football Playoff system is not perfect, it is much
better than the former BCS (Bowl Championship Series).

Though I quit the tradition of filling out brackets about six years ago, I enjoy March
Madness but you’re not going to hear me say that March Madness is the greatest thing
since the Great Wall of China.

Before the BCS came into being in the 1998 season, we frequently had two undefeated
teams. The problem is that they at times were not matched up against each either: 1991
Miami-Washington, 1994 Nebraska-Penn State, 1997 Nebraska-Michigan. Did those
teams play each other on the field? No.

Why? Because the Pac-10 and Big 10 were so hell-bent on keeping their Rose Bowl
tradition but when they had an unbeaten team, they'd whine about either getting a split
National title (i.e. Michigan in 1997) or no National title (i.e. Penn State in 1994). I say,
sorry folks. You can't have it both ways. The reality is that Penn State screwed itself out
of the National title in 1994 by going from Independent to Big 10.

The BCS was not without its controversies either including but not limited to the years
of 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2012.

In 2014, the BCS was succeeded by the CFP. The system maintains the existing bowl
games but has four teams playing two semifinal games with the winner of those contests
playing each other one week later. The 13-member committee selects and seeds the four
teams to take part in the CFP. This system differs from the use of polls or computer
rankings that had previously been used to select the participants for the BCS. The current
format is a Plus-One system, an idea which became popular as an alternative to the BCS.

The other layer to the college football playoff controversy is the exclusion of Group of
Five teams like Central Florida or Boise State to name a few. In a previous writing, your
truly made a case for such schools:

http://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2018/12/making-case-for-central-florida.html

I find it comical how fans, media and talk show hosts whine and complain about the
BCS just like they whined and complained about Nebraska (2001), Oklahoma (2003),
Alabama (2011), Ohio State (2016) and Alabama (2017) not winning its conference
but yet still playing for the title. Yet they don't say boo about a team finishing seventh
in its basketball conference and getting an NCAA tournament bid.

The pro March Madness folks would then say but "at least it's played on the court."
True but it doesn't stop teams that were on the bubble from complaining about not getting
an NCAA tournament bid.

The NCAA men's basketball tournament might be exciting but it's nothing more than a
gimmick. Fans that love it say that a team can get hot all of the sudden. My argument is
that any team can get hot all of the sudden but once they lose a game, the pressure is gone.

Whereas going undefeated is a bigger accomplishment. It's like pitching a perfect game
in baseball. With each win, the laws of averages are not on your side because that team
has a Bull's Eye right across its chest.

Again, March Madness is exciting but the field of 64 teams is watered down worse than
a flat Budweiser and please don't come at with the George Masons of the world either.
I say cut the field to 16 teams and have truly the best teams.

If the idea is to find out which college basketball team is the best by having a tournament
and having everyone play it off, then when play the regular season in the first place?

With the exclusion of Group of Five teams from the CFP, there have been cries to expand
the field to eight teams to give the illusion of fairness. In my world, more does not mean
better. Former Nebraska defensive end Adam Carriker, who played five years in the NFL
(two with the St. Louis Rams, three with the Washington Redskins), had the best idea
yet and it’s one I have espoused for years. Carriker does a weekly segment called
Carriker Chronicles, as a Nebraska alum, I follow it closely.

Having the CFP after the major bowl games is much better than the eight team playoff.
The latter may be the easiest thing to do but that doesn’t make it the best way. With an
eight-team format, you start getting into teams with two losses. No team with two
defeats should be playing for a National Championship because it de-emphasizes the
regular season. That is exactly why many fans in other sports don’t bother watching
the regular season because the postseason formats are watered down worse than a flat
Budweiser.

With college football, the regular season is like a de facto postseason. Another example of
more not being better is bowl games. Over half the damn teams in college football qualify
for bowl games, even those that go 5-7 for crying out loud. The first thing I would do is
make bowl games a more challenging feat to reach. Make a team go 7-5 minimum.

I would also chop the system from six major bowls to four: Rose, Sugar, Orange and
Fiesta. I could make a point of realigning conferences and getting rid of conference title
games but that’s completely another discussion. That idea falls into the less is more
category. OK, so what do you do after the bowl games?

There is merit to a two-team format because in the Rose and Sugar, there are often two
conference champions so whoever wins that would be perfect for a title game but there
are wild cards. To that end, a three or four team format would work. For openers, I think
an undefeated Group of Five team belongs in the playoff regardless of ranking. Please,
spare me the “they don’t play anyone/they’d lose by 75 touchdowns” card. If they get
blown out so what, how is that any worse than Clemson throttling Notre Dame or
Alabama blasting Michigan State?

I would err on the side of a three-team format but with the flexibility of adding a fourth
depending on the year. The No. 1 team would get a bye while No. 2 plays No. 3. In a
nutshell, make it three teams every year and if there’s an undefeated Group of Five, they
become the fourth team.

I can hear the grovels, “it’s all about money!” Thank you, Captain Obvious. However,
money can also be combined with merit. Less is more. Look no further than Super
Bowl Sunday. The per ad revenue is off the charts. Why? Because there is only one.
That day, you have people watching the game that don’t care about football.

The overarching issue is power five conferences. They don’t care one iota on what is
best for college football. They care about money. It’s called capitalism, which is not a
dirty word. However, if they that there is money to be made by having the CFP after
the bowl games, they are more likely to get on board with the idea.

Playing revisionist history with 2013 Upvalley football

When you play the revisionist history game, to do it semi-accurate, it’s based on
numbers crunching and the eyeball test. More so the latter but use the former as
reference points.

It is highly speculative. In 2013, I had an embarrassment of riches with high school
football coverage as the Upvalley sports beat reporter for the St. Helena Star and
Weekly Calistogan. The two publications are part of Napa Valley Publishing, which
is based out of Napa, CA. St. Helena and Calistoga are two rural communities about
a half hour drive North of Napa.

That season, the St. Helena Saints went 9-3 and the Calistoga Wildcats went 8-2. I had
a few seasons where only one or neither was good so to have both succeed was a treat.
On some occasions, the two teams played on the same night but different venues,
which meant I could not be in two places at the same time.

The two programs played regularly but the series discontinued in 1994 before
re-estblishing in 2008 and 2009 with St. Helena winning both games decisively, 37-0
and 45-6. The two teams are not likely to play each other in football any time soon.
Calistoga, which is about half of St. Helena’s size in enrollment, moved to eight-man
football in 2015.

St. Helena entered the 2013 season having lost stars such as quarterback Richard Hoppe
along with Joey Brink (wide receiver) and Danny Brink (running back). However, Saints
head coach Brandon Farrell adapted to his personnel. In 2012, the Saints used the pass to
set up the run. In 2013, Farrell leaned heavily on a veteran offensive line, leading the
way for record-setting running back Sebastian Segura, who enjoyed one of the best
seasons — and careers — in Saints history. Segura posted single season records for
most rushing yards in a game (270 in the playoffs against Kelseyville) and season
(1,701), as well as most career rushing yards with 2,716. He posted nine 100-yard
rushing games and three 200-yard contests this season, topped off by 18 TDs. Robert
Covey held the previous records since 2004.

Litto Damonte and Gannon Laidlaw anchored the offensive line. Davone Browne was a
dual threat as both a receiver and return man. Damonte and linebacker Kile Grayson
anchored a Saints defense that was stout all season.

For Calistoga, head coach Paul Harrell had guided many of the same players to success
with the Calistoga Cubs youth football program. The success translated in high school.
Running back Dylan Alvarado rushed for a school record 1,978 yards, breaking Corey
Beck’s mark that stood since 1987. Alvarado posted 9.94 yards per carry and scored a
school record 25 rushing TDs. He set a single season record by scoring 154 points,
highlighted by a game against Emery in which he rushed for 407 yards and seven TDs.
Alvarado broke Jason Tamagni’s single-game record set in 2001.

The NCL II/BFL Offensive MVP, Alvarado also led the ’Cats in tackles with 86 from
his linebacker position and added an interception. Walker Hughes anchored the line as
the point player for the rushing attack. Hughes was second on the Wildcats with 12
pancake blocks.

Timmy Montanez led the defense with the second-most interceptions in school history
with nine, including two pick-sixes. Montanez recorded 39 tackles from his safety
position and contributed 16 catches for 132 yards and a TD as a receiver.

On the numbers crunching front, the Saints went 9-3 overall and 6-1 in North Central
League I. In the CIF North Coast Section Div. IV playoffs, St. Helena defeated
Kelseyville 47-20 and lost 24-7 to eventual champion St. Mary’s (Berkeley). St.
Helena’s opponents had a combined record of 68-56 (54.8% winning percentage) and
an average calpreps.com ranking of -16.13. St. Helena outscored opponents by an
average of 30.6-10.5.

Calistoga went 8-2 overall and 5-1 as members of the NCL II/Bay Football League,
co-champions with St. Vincent (Petaluma), marking the program’s first league title
since 1997. Calistoga lost in the first round of the NCS Div. V playoffs at Ferndale,
50-28, which lost to Valley Christian (Dublin) 34-6 one week later. Wildcats
opponents had a combined record of 51-55 (48.1% winning percentage) with an
average calpreps.com ranking of -22.9. Calistoga outscored opponents by an
average of 40.3-16.6.

The teams had three common opponents: Cloverdale, Tomales and St. Vincent. St.
Helena went 3-0 against those teams beating Cloverdale 28-7, Tomales, 20-0 and
St. Vincent 12-7. Calistoga beat Cloverdale 42-13, Tomales 52-16 and lost 27-14
to St. Vincent.

Since the two teams did not play, I can only wildly speculate even though there are
people on each side of the equation that are convinced their team would have won.
On the league and schedule strength front, neither was overwhelming but I give the
edge to the Saints. The numbers clearly demonstrate. The teams played in a scrimmage
before the season but if you think that reflects how a real game plays out, have another
drink.

As one that covered both teams, I believe I can bring objectivity. Most years, I would
have given St. Helena a pretty considerable edge but in 2013, I don’t think it’s a
two-inch putt. In fact, I think Calistoga would have been good enough to win on a
given day.

If the game was played early in the season, I give Calistoga the edge, but not a big one,
because at the time the Wildcats were playing at a higher level. Calistoga started that
season like a house of fire, outscoring its first three teams (Cloverdale, South Fork and
Swett) by a combined 112-19. St. Helena started 2-1, outscoring teams 46-23. The Saints
were outstanding on defense but offensively couldn’t get out of their own way. St.
Helena was vulnerable enough at the time to be had.

If the teams played each other between Week 4-9, I would have given St. Helena the
edge, but not a huge one. Calistoga was continuing to dominate its next five foes,
outscoring them 249-70. However, watching the Wildcats in that span, I came away
with the feeling that they were maintaining their success but not necessarily getting
better whereas the Saints were on the ascend. St. Helena went 5-1 in a six-game stretch
after the bye with the lone loss coming to eventual NCL I champ Middletown (21-6).
In that span, the Saints offense caught up to their defense, outscoring foes 240-54.

Thereafter, however, I would have given the Saints a fairly sizeable edge. Calistoga
entered its season finale 8-0 with a chance for its first unbeaten regular season since
1987 and a chance to win sole possession of the league title. The Wildcats lost to St.
Vincent 27-14 and flopped in the aforementioned defeat to Ferndale.

St. Helena, meanwhile, defeated Cloverdale 28-7 in the season finale, then Kelseyville
47-20 before the aforementioned loss to St. Mary’s.

Regardless of how one speculates, I look back at the 2013 high school football season
with fondness.