After an injury-riddled season that resulted in St. Francis finishing 2-8 and missing the CIF-SS football playoffs, the school decided to part ways with head coach Dean Herrington on Tuesday.
The news took Herrington by surprise considering the Knights finished the season with a 28-21 victory over Angelus League champion Cathedral.
“They decided not to renew my contract,” Herrington said. “They told me there were morale and culture issues.
“I don’t agree, I thought we fought hard this year and had some tough injuries. But I’ll be fine. This was a great place to coach.”
Herrington is regarded as one of the the top coaches in Southern California and has a resume to back it up.
When Herrington took over at St. Francis in 2021, the Golden Knights had immediate success, advancing to back-to-back CIF-SS championship games in 2021 and ‘22, losing in both finals to Long Beach Poly and Etiwanda, respectively.
The Golden Knights won three Angelus League titles under Herrington and even though they struggled last season due to injuries and finished 5-8, they still advanced to the CIF-SS Division 6 semifinals.
This season, the Golden Knights lost starting quarterback Shawn Sanders to a broken collarbone in a scrimmage a week before their opening game. Backup quarterback Ashton Gill broke his wrist in the Golden Knights’ first game, which derailed their season.
They finished with just two victories, though they closed with one of the upsets of the year, beating Cathedral in the league finale.
“Was shocked. Best coaching job we’ve done since I’ve been there,” Herrington wrote in a text message. “(The school) said culture and morale was not good. Players practiced hard and with conviction all season, even with the bad breaks we suffered.
“You don’t beat a great Cathedral team with bad culture or bad morale.”
Herrington finishes with a 35-26 overall record in his five years at St. Francis.
When Herrington arrived at St. Francis, he was seen as a major hire because of his previous two stops.
Herrington coached at Paraclete for six years seasons, where he compiled an overall record of 40-20, which included a CIF-SS and CIF State championship in his first season and another CIF-SS title in 2017.
Prior to Paraclete, Herrington had a great run at Alemany, where he compiled an 84-44 record in 10 seasons and won seven league championships. He also led Alemany to a CIF-SS championship game in 2009.