Eagles Hire Barnett as Coordinator

Jim Barnett, who was Trabuco Hills’ first head coach and won two section football titles there, has been named the offensive coordinator at Santa Margarita, Eagle Coach Jim Hartigan said Wednesday.

Barnett resigned after the 1994 season with an 81-30-2 record. He previously coached at Long Beach Poly. He replaces Tim O’Hara, who took a similar position at Saddleback College. Barnett joins a school that has won consecutive Southern Section titles.

“He brings a wealth of experience--he’s obviously coached big games, both at Poly and Trabuco Hills--and he fits into our wide-open, aggressive offensive style,” Hartigan said. “Plus, he has a great history of developing quarterbacks, David Lowery, Pat Barnes. The fact that he’s produced some top quarterbacks--it’s a natural fit. We want to continue to produce good quarterbacks.”