‘94 Football Preview : Even the Coaches Will Be New This Season : Football: Nearly a third of Central City high schools will debut first-year head coaches. Among them is former NFL player Willie Brown at Jordan.

Usually, this is the time of year that coaches wear out pencils writing in the names of new players.

However, this season Central City football fans will have to create their own lists to keep track of the area’s new coaches.

Seven of the 24 local high schools, nearly one-third, will feature first-year head coaches.

“Wow” was the reaction of Bell coach Henry Santiago, who begins his first full season. “That will make for a very interesting year.”

Making their first-year debuts along with Santiago will be Willie Brown at Jordan, Tony Barragan (Cathedral), Armando Gonzalez (Franklin), Albert Parkhill (Huntington Park), Joe Silva (Lincoln) and Al Rowe (Washington).

Santiago should have the smoothest transition after serving as co-head coach with Ray Galarze for the past three seasons.

“I have already been involved in coaching decisions,” said Santiago, 33. “The three years prepared me to be a head coach.”

Santiago, who was coach of the Bee football team from 1987-91, enjoys another advantage.

“I know the players, the system and the school,” Santiago said. “The kids respect me and listen to me.”

Respect is something Brown will have no problem getting from his players at Jordan.

Brown, an NFL great for 16 seasons with the Broncos and Raiders, will certainly be the most watched of the new coaches.

His locker-room speeches will resemble an E.F. Hutton commercial: everyone listening.

His players “listen to me because they know I can pull out a tape or film and show it to them to back up what I say,” said the 10-time Pro-Bowl defensive back. “They can hear it and see it.”

Jordan will need a leader of Brown’s status and caliber to resurrect its program.

The Bulldogs have lost 26 straight games dating back to the 1991 season.

“These young men don’t know how to win,” Brown said. “They just need to learn how to win and that’s what I am going to show them.”

Brown has been under the tutelage of some of the great winning coaches throughout his football career.

From 1960-63, Brown played for Grambling University coach Eddie Robinson, the winningest football coach in history.

He won his only Super Bowl as a player in 1977 with the Raiders under John Madden, owner of one of the top winning percentages among NFL coaches.

Brown was an assistant coach with the Raiders under Tom Flores from 1979-89. The Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1981 and 1983.

“The discipline I learned from college coaches and pro coaches is what I want to pass on to my players,” Brown said.

He was an assistant coach at Long Beach State under George Allen, NFL coaching legend, in 1990. In 1991, Brown went 2-9 in his first and only season as head coach of Long Beach State.

The 49ers dropped its football program the next year.

He is hoping for better results this season.

“Despite the troubles this team has had in the past, I am looking forward to this season,” Brown said. “I am prepared.”

The head coaching position is nothing new to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez coached Franklin from 1980-83 and 1986-89. The Tigers won the City Section 2-A title in ‘83, and the 3-A title in ‘86, ’87 and ’89.

“I love coaching at Franklin,” said Gonzalez, 43. “It has been a dear place to me.”

Gonzalez, a Franklin graduate in 1969, played varsity football from 1967-69. He teaches at Franklin and has been the track coach for two years.

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Gonzalez has won by creating a system suitable for his players: “We don’t have kids that are very fast at our school. Our athletes are more nifty and aggressive, so my philosophy is to throw the ball.”

Silva, who coached as a volunteer assistant at Lincoln from 1991-93, looks to mix it up on offense.

“We will have a more balanced attack instead of just passing,” said Silva, who coached defense last year. “We will feature an aggressive, blitzing defense.”

Silva, 27, will benefit by his experienced coaching staff, headed by former Lincoln and Cathedral coach Woody Carillo.

“I am pleased to have Woody as my offensive coordinator,” Silva said. “If he could score points at Cathedral, he can score points here.”

Silva believes the influx of new coaches will benefit the area.

“A lot of change will make for more parity because new coaches have to get familiar with their players and vice versa,” Silva said.

The city’s new coaches have made it clear that they will not only make an impact on the sideline, but also in the classroom.

“I have added college career-type goals as far as gearing them for a university by emphasizing study hall and preparing for the SAT,” said Bell’s Santiago. “There will also be more community involvement to show the positive side of Bell football.”

Said Willie Brown: “The most important thing is that they need guidance, training and leadership. They need to be pushed to get an education. My goal is to see these young men finish high school and get the opportunity to go to college. Football is second.”