Santa Margarita football coach Rich Fisher has been dismissed after three seasons, assistant principal Jim Hartigan confirmed Wednesday.
Hartigan declined to comment on the reason for the move, but said the Trinity League school would quickly begin the search for a replacement for Fisher, a former assistant coach at Nebraska.
The Eagles finished 3-7 overall last season and 0-5 in the ultra-competitive Trinity League. Santa Margarita went 7-5 and 7-4 in Fisher’s first two seasons.
“We appreciate the time he spent here,” Hartigan said of Fisher. “There were improvements in the program that we appreciate.”
Fisher declined comment on Wednesday night.
Santa Margarita president Andy Sulick said the change was made for a variety of reasons he that declined to specify.
“Just a difference of vision versus the vision of the school,” Sulick said. “It’s a number of things.”
Sulick said Santa Margarita would like to have a coach in place by the end of February.
Santa Margarita quarterback Peter Costelli said players learned of the news from Sulick.
“I’m very sad at this news,” said Costelli, who will be a junior in the fall. “He was one of the best coaches I have ever met. Not only did he teach amazing things about football but also about life.”
Hartigan, a former head coach at Santa Margarita and JSerra, said the recent transfer of two well-regarded players from Santa Margarita to JSerra didn’t lead to Fisher’s dismissal.
“But certainly losing kids is never good for anybody,” Sulick said. “It’s not good for the school.”
Hartigan said transfers in the league are common, but acknowledged the high turnover in the league’s coaching rankings the last several seasons.
Only Mater Dei’s Bruce Rollinson and St. John Bosco’s Jason Negro have found coaching stability in the Trinity League.
“It’s football. It’s competitive,” Hartigan said.
Hartigan said he will not be the next football coach at Santa Margarita.
“I’m retired,” he said. “I’m going to remain as the assistant principal in charge of athletics. … I won’t be the football coach.”
Fisher finished with a 17-16 overall record at Santa Margarita, 5-10 in the Trinity League.
He replaced Rick Curtis, who was dismissed after two seasons and now coaches at Capistrano Valley Christian. Curtis took over at the school after Harry Welch’s four-year run as head coach.
Fisher was selected to coach the South in the upcoming Orange County All-Star Classic at Orange Coast College on Jan. 26 but won’t be handling the role, Hartigan said.
Hartigan told Ron Amburgey of Costa Mesa United, the nonprofit that has run the all-star game the past two years, that Santa Margarita offensive coordinator Sean Embree will lead the Eagles’ coaching efforts with the game.
“We’ll just move on,” Amburgey said.
Fisher had been attending meetings for the game, including an event Sunday at the Chargers’ headquarters in Costa Mesa.
