Laguna Beach Hires Desert Assistant to Replace Hardman as Football Coach

Lyman Olney, defensive coordinator at Desert High School at Edwards Air Force Base since 1979, has been named head football coach at Laguna Beach High.

Olney, 40, replaces Cedrick Hardman, who resigned in February after being arrested last September for felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Olney has helped Desert’s football team reach the Southern Section Inland Conference playoffs in seven of the past eight years. He grew up in Hawaii and played football at Cleveland High and Cal State Northridge. He has four children.

“The Laguna Beach area was the attraction,” Olney said. “My family wanted to relocate there. We spend the summers there and have strong feelings for the water.”

Olney said he plans to leave Desert High School June 6 and hopes to begin spring football drills at Laguna Beach June 9. He will teach government and economics at Laguna Beach.

“My first priority is assembling a staff,” he said. “I’m aware of the problems that Laguna Beach has had in the past two years and have no comment. I went in with my eyes open. I want to bring a quality program to Laguna Beach.”

Desert has an enrollment of only 395 students, all of which are dependents of Air Force personnel. Laguna Beach is the smallest public high school in Orange County with an enrollment of 900.

“That’s a large school to me,” Olney said. “I’m going to a school that is three times as big as Desert. I feel this job offers more opportunities for me.”

Olney will face two immediate drawbacks. Laguna Beach teams are the only athletic programs in the Pacific Coast League that operate without a sixth-period coaching class.

The football staff last fall was made up entirely of walk-on coaches, and Olney has already been told by district officials that there are no openings for an on-staff assistant.