Cal Lutheran Pulls Squires Back to Fold

After months of searching for a football coach, officials at Cal Lutheran announced Thursday that Scott Squires is their man.

He is the program’s third coach in 35 years.

“There were 90 applicants for this job and a good half of them were absolutely outstanding,” said Bruce Bryde, Cal Lutheran athletic director.

“We ended up with the best.”

Squires, who turns 31 this week, has served as an assistant at Cal Lutheran under former coaches Bob Shoup and Joe Harper.

He worked with the defensive line and long snappers under Shoup in 1989 and was the team’s offensive coordinator under Harper in 1993 and ’94.

Squires also did much of the recruiting for Harper.

“He’s a perfect fit for this institution,” said All-American punter Jeff Shea, who will return for his junior season in the fall.

“He was an assistant my freshman year and he’s a great guy. It definitely helps that he’s familiar with the program.”

Last season, Squires coached wide receivers at Nevada Las Vegas but did not sell his Newbury Park home. He said he is happy to be back in an area where he has strong ties.

“This is so exciting for me,” Squires said Thursday at a news conference as his wife, Sherith, stood behind him holding purple and yellow balloons.

“I’m so fired up about today and the job I have before me.”

Turning around the struggling Cal Lutheran program could be a difficult task.

Harper, who was forced to resign in December, had only two winning seasons and a 23-32-1 record in six years.

The Kingsmen were 4-4-1 last season and placed third in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 4-2 record.

“My No. 1 thing is to recruit, hands down, bar none,” Squires said. “I’m going to call kids, a whole bunch of them. We need numbers, size and speed.”

As a linebacker at Pacific Lutheran, Squires played on an NAIA Division II national championship team in 1987. The Lutes were runners-up in 1985.

“I want to win a national championship here,” Squires said. “I played in them and now I want to coach in them.”