Mission Viejo’s Denny Dies of Heart Attack

Bill Denny, Mission Viejo football coach, died of a heart attack Thursday night, Mission Viejo Principal Marilyn McDowell said Friday.

Denny, 51, was at home when he died. He had recently given up smoking and had no history of heart problems, friends said.

“He was such a wonderful guy,” McDowell said. “He was very mild mannered. This came as a shock to everyone.”

Although the school year had ended, the football team held workouts daily. The players were informed Friday and McDowell said the school had grief counselors available to students and faculty.

“I think as a coach, we lost one of the truly finest men,” Mission Viejo assistant football coach Kerry Crabb said. “He was so caring and so giving. Kids meant so much to him, and his family meant so much to him. It’s a real loss. You don’t find guys like Bill in coaching a lot. He had so many good qualities.”

Funeral services are pending. Denny is survived by his wife Sandra, daughter Susan, and sons Matt and Bill. All three of Denny’s children attended Mission Viejo High. Bill and Matt both played football. Bill Denny Jr. later played at Pacific and Matt Denny played at Nevada.

Denny spent four seasons as Mission Viejo’s coach, returning the program to prominence. The Diablos, an Orange County power through the 1980s, had fallen on hard times when Denny took over the program in 1995.

“He was a real gentleman,” said Trabuco Hills Coach Bill Crow, a former head coach at Mission Viejo. “I never heard anyone say anything bad about Bill. He stuck with it through some true adversity. He had a great year last year, had everything rolling again and God calls him up.”

The Diablos were 8-3 and finished ranked ninth in Orange County last season. They lost to No. 5 Esperanza, 14-10, in the first round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

It was their first playoff appearance since 1995.

“You ride the roller coaster up and down in coaching, and a lot of times it’s out of your hands,” former Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton said. “I remember he beat us my last year as coach [at Capistrano Valley] and it kept us out of the playoffs.

“There was a real good rivalry between Capo Valley and Mission Viejo, but we were able to put [the games] behind us. Any time a Capo Valley coach saw a Mission Viejo coach, there was always a lot of kidding. It was the best of sportsmanship.”

Denny was an assistant coach at Mission Viejo for five seasons, working under Mike Rush, who resigned under pressure in 1993 after refusing to enforce a ban on the Diablo logo. Rush died of a heart attack eight months later.

Denny also was an assistant at Estancia for three seasons.

“He was truly one of the nicest people I have ever run into in the coaching profession,” former Saddleback College Coach Bill Cunerty said. “I’ve known him and his family since he first moved down here. I know how hard he worked and what a fine Christian man he was.

“It’s such a loss, not only for his family, but for the [Mission Viejo] program and all the kids in the area. His emphasis was always on doing the right thing. He put that ahead of winning.”

Denny, a graduate of New Castle High School in Pennsylvania, played college football at Detroit, Kansas State and Indiana State. He spent 27 years as a coach.