Community Profile: Damon Baldwin’s football journey to Ramona High
Just as Damon Baldwin would be about to hang up his jersey and retire from professional football to become a coach, he would be called back to the field.
That happened several times before he landed the job as Ramona High School head football coach and physical education teacher in 2005. Three years later, he became the high school’s athletic director as well as head coach.
Originally from Northern California, Baldwin attended San Diego State University on a full ride football scholarship. He was part of the Holiday Bowl in 1986 and the Western Athletic Conference championship team that same year.
Upon graduating college, he was an NFL prospect. However, a dislocated elbow caused his rating to drop.
“So I ended up being a free agent,” he said. That was also the year the NFL draft dropped from 12 rounds to seven rounds.
“I spent free agent time with the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990. That didn’t work out so I came back and thought I was going to be done with pro football…then I went into grad school for my teaching credential. But as soon as I did that, the NFL started a spring league called the World League of America Football (WLAF).”
Baldwin was drafted into the professional spring football league that was comprised of 10 teams with four in different countries. He played for the London Monarchs in 1991.
The next year he played for the New York/New Jersey Knights at Giants Stadium.
“After that second season in New York — I had played very well — and so I came back, ’cause it was a spring league, to San Diego…and was going to start to train and get ready for the next season, but I started substitute teaching and coaching high school football at Rancho Bernardo High,” he said.
“I knew I wanted to teach and coach. That’s what my career was going to be when my playing days were over.”
Then came a phone call informing him that the Los Angeles Raiders wanted to sign him.
“And the Raiders were like my hometown because I grew up in the Bay Area,” said Baldwin.
He signed with the Raiders in spring 1993 but after pre-season training and ready to make the team, he blew his knee out in practice. He was placed on injured reserve and stayed with the Raiders for a year.
“At that point, I’m thinking OK, I’m probably done, time to move on.”
Baldwin came back to San Diego and finished his teaching credential from Chapman University, while coaching and substitute teaching at Rancho Bernardo High.
NFL had canceled its spring league after two years but in 1995 created a new spring league, NFL Europe, with six European teams.
“So they had another draft…Just when I thought I was done, I get re-drafted by London, which was my original team. So I was at a crossroads: OK, what am I going to do?”
Baldwin said he decided that if he could play in the spring, he could make enough money that would allow him to finish grad school and continue subbing and coaching at RB High.
In spring 1995 he played in London, then returned and coached the RB team, seeing them win CIF championship, just as they did while he was there in 1993.
After that the head RB football coach retired and Baldwin was offered the job. Still under contract for NFL Europe, Baldwin said that to take the job meant he would have to give up the spring league for which he had traveled to many different countries.
“It was just a great, great opportunity to travel the world and get paid for it.”
While deciding what to do, his alma mater, SDSU, offered him to be the assistant line coach. It was a graduate assistant job and not full time, but it paid for graduate school.
Since SDSU only needed him during summer and fall, he took the job and played another year with NFL Europe.
One week from the season ending, Baldwin re-injured his knee and was flown back to the U.S. for rehabilitation.
“At that point, I said, ‘I’m done.’”
He went back to SDSU as a graduate assistant, earning a master’s degree in sports psychology. Baldwin was then offered a full-time job as line coach for the Division 1 Aztecs. He coached the offensive line from 1997 to 2004.
After a change in coaching, he found himself looking for a new job. Although he was getting college offers, he knew that entailed a lot of traveling, taking time away from his wife and daughter. So he decided to stay local.
He was offered a job at Hilltop High but then came the offer as head football coach for Ramona.
“I knew I wanted to be in North County,” Baldwin said. He took it and moved to Ramona in 2007 and says he’s staying put.
“Everything sort of worked out,” he said.
The one thing he finds difficult in his position is finding football coaches, especially ones who are also teachers.
“I really believe coaches are the best teachers on campus,” he said.
Most of his football staff have full-time jobs and receive a stipend for coaching. Baldwin said he’s been blessed to find so many who are willing to do this.
Baldwin is also is a football advisory representative for the CIF San Diego Section. In June, he was honored by CIF San Diego Section as Athletic Director of the Year.
This year his Bulldogs have been doing very well. Their goal, he said, is to win the CIF championship.