Mater Dei’s Gallo Fired, 2 Assistant Coaches Say

Chuck Gallo was fired as football coach at Mater Dei High School on Tuesday, according to two Monarch assistant coaches.

Gallo, who was under a 1-year contract, was relieved of his duties after a meeting with administrators Tuesday, the coaches said. Gallo informed his assistant coaches of the decision in a meeting Tuesday afternoon. He will remain at the school as a mathematics teacher, the coaches said.

Gallo could not be reached Tuesday night. Athletic Director Gary McKnight would not comment, but is expected to make an announcement on the decision today, offensive line coach Dave Uranich said.

“It was a complete surprise,” Uranich said. “The official reason was that the kids did not play hard. That came as a shock to some people--parents, family friends, even the coaching staff.”

Members of the coaching staff said they thought they had received a vote of confidence from the administration 2 weeks ago, according Uranich and offensive coordinator Eric Podley.

Uranich said that an administrator had approached Father John Weling, Mater Dei’s principal, to inquire about Gallo’s status at that time. He returned with a vote of confidence, according to Uranich.

“The feeling we got after that was everything was OK,” Uranich said. “We started getting ready for next season.”

Said Podley: “We had received indications from the administration that they thought Chuck was the man for the job. All they had to do was take it to the personnel board.”

Father Weling could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Gallo, 49, has been the coach at Mater Dei for 5 seasons. He compiled a 32-24 record, including a 6-6 mark last season, and advanced to the Southern Section Division I playoffs four times. Mater Dei’s best season was in 1984, Gallo’s first, when it posted an 8-4 record.

However, the Monarchs did not advance past the second round of the playoffs under Gallo. They lost, 30-17, to Loyola in the second round this season.

“There has been some friction (with the administration), but there has never been anything officially said regarding what we were supposed to do as far as wins and losses,” Uranich said. “They (administrators) would tell us after every game how much they admired the football program. I was told by some administrators that they were happy with the way the kids were playing.”

Off the field, Gallo had some problems. Last winter, Mater Dei was reprimanded by the Southern Section for using undue influence when quarterback Danny O’Neil transferred to Mater Dei from Corona del Mar High School.

“There have been some problems, mostly involving the transfer of a student (O’Neil),” Podley said. “But the administration never indicated that there was any problem (with Gallo).”

“We’ve been asking the administration for 2 years for an evaluation and guidelines. They furnished us with neither. Maybe that was an indication in itself.”

The status of Gallo’s assistants is uncertain, Podley and Uranich said. They said that like Gallo, they are under 1-year contracts as coaches.

“Basically everyone is on their own,” Podley said. “The new coach doesn’t have to hire any of them.”

Gallo is a graduate of United States Military Academy at West Point and received a master’s degree in physical education from Columbia University. After serving as an assistant coach at Mission Viejo for 2 seasons and Tustin for 4, he began his head coaching career at Servite in 1972.

The Friars were 15-5-1 during Gallo’s 2 seasons at Servite. He left in 1973 to become an assistant at Cal State Fullerton, where he coached for 3 seasons.

Upon leaving Fullerton, Gallo taught for 2 years at Mission Viejo before being hired as Laguna Hills’ first head coach. He was fired after winning only 9 games in 4 seasons.

Gallo was the offensive coordinator at Capistrano Valley for 2 seasons before being hired by Mater Dei to replace Wayne Cochrun. He was selected from a strong field of candidates, including former St. Paul Coach Marion Ancich, now at Tustin; Mater Dei graduate Eric Patton, now at Capistrano Valley; and former Brea-Olinda Coach Bill Brown.

Gallo has always been a strong proponent of the passing game and has had several top quarterbacks.

At Servite, he coached Turk Schonert, who later played in the National Football League with the Cincinnati Bengals. At Laguna Hills, he coached Bill McVicar, who led Orange County in passing in 1981. As offensive coordinator at Capistrano Valley, he coached Burt Call, who set the county record for career passing yardage in 1983.

He also coached Todd Marinovich for that quarterback’s freshman and sophomore seasons at Mater Dei. Marinovich, who transferred to Capistrano Valley, later set a national high school passing record with 9,165 yards.

Last season, O’Neil was among the county’s passing leaders.

“Chuck was a tremendous coach,” Uranich said. “He was a great builder and he had success almost everywhere he went.”

Times staff writers Tom Hamilton and Elliott Teaford contributed to this story.

GALLO’S RECORD AT MATER DEI

Year Overall League Playoffs 1984 6-5 3-2 Lost in first round of Big Five Conference. 1985 8-4 4-1 Lost in second round of Big Five Conference. 1986 5-5 2-3 Did not make playoffs. 1987 7-4 3-2 Lost in first round of Big Five Conference. 1988 6-6 2-2 Lost in first round of Division I.