Welch’s Return Put in Jeopardy : Prep football: Canyon refuses to guarantee that coach will be rehired when his suspension ends in January.

Thwarted in its effort to promote someone from within its program, Canyon High has opened its search for a football coach to all candidates, a move that could jeopardize the return of Harry Welch when his suspension as head coach ends Dec. 31.

Canyon assistant Enrique Lopez on Thursday rejected an offer to replace Welch, prompting Principal Bill White to announce that the position is wide open. White said he would accept a walk-on coach if he must.

“We’re open to everything,” he said. “I have no candidates in mind. We’re going to get the grapevine going and try to get the best coach we can.”

Lopez and fellow assistant Brian Stiman have been running the team on an interim basis since July 15 when Welch began serving a 5 1/2-month suspension for conducting an off-season practice in violation of Southern Section rules. Welch has yet to decide whether he will seek legal redress of the suspension.

Also unclear is the school’s plans for Welch when his suspension ends. It had been assumed that Welch would resume his career after sitting out the 1990 season. In nine seasons at Canyon, he has posted a 100-19-1 record, led the Cowboys to three Southern Section titles and fashioned a 46-game winning streak from 1983-86.

White declined to discuss specifics of Welch’s return, saying only that “the door is open” and that Welch could “reapply” for the job in January. White pointed out that the chore of finding a new coach this soon before the start of the season is difficult. Uncertainty over Welch’s future only makes the search harder, White added.

Welch expressed concern about his future with the program while repeating his desire to return. He admitted that his future in coaching at Canyon is clouded by the school’s effort to hire someone outside the program.

“It concerns me a great deal,” he said. “I very much wish to return Jan. 1, but I recognize it could be an awkward situation.”

Lopez fueled speculation about Welch’s status after 1990 when he said he probably would have accepted the position if the school had provided written assurance that Welch would return in 1992.

“I’d be the first one to jump in to hold down the fort until he comes back,” Lopez said. “If I take a year off from my career, I need a written guarantee that he would be back. We don’t have that yet or any word that he’s coming back for sure.”

White offered the job to Lopez and Stiman after Welch was suspended, but Stiman has said from the start of the controversy that he would not coach next fall, citing family responsibilities.

Lopez, a former Alemany head coach, said the position would interfere with his pursuit of a master’s degree in physical education. Lopez, 38, who teaches Spanish and English as a Second Language at Canyon, said he was willing to remain as an assistant this fall.