A familiar face takes the reins

Rick Devereux

The hiring of Tom Baldwin as the new head football coach at Costa

Mesa High was not surprising considering he had been an assistant

with the Mustangs for the past two years and was in charge of the

program since the firing of former head coach and athletic director

Dave Perkins. But the hiring was newsworthy.

Baldwin, 72, is believed to be the oldest head football coach

hired in the history of Orange County. But with age comes experience,

and Baldwin has more than enough football experience.

“He’s forgotten more football than most people will ever know,”

Costa Mesa Principal Fred Navarro said.

Baldwin was one of three coaching hires announced at a press

conference Wednesday by Navarro and Assistant Principal Kirk

Bauermeister. Paul Serio will attempt to rebuild the wrestling

program and Nicole Price will take over the track and field teams.

The final round of interviews for the baseball coach opening were

being held Wednesday with a new manager expected to be named soon.

“I think this is a great mix of coaches like Tom,” Navarro said,

“and coaches like Ryan [Schachter, new boys basketball coach] who is

just starting out.”

Baldwin has been a football coach for more than 46 years. He

started out as an assistant at Long Beach State and then became an

assistant at Santa Ana High. As the head coach at Santa Ana, Baldwin

coached future Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Isaac Curtis. With

Curtis on the team, Baldwin led the Saints to the CIF Southern

Section title game in 1967.

“It’s funny how good of a coach you are with great players,”

Baldwin said.

Baldwin is no neophyte when it comes to Costa Mesa football.

Besides the past two years he spent as an assistant, Baldwin was the

Mustangs’ head coach from 1984 to ’91 and guided the team to the CIF

playoffs in 1988, the first time Mesa reached the postseason in

football in nine years, and again in 1990. He was also an assistant

for five years in the mid-’90s. In all, he has spent 14 of the past

20 years with Mesa’s football program.

Baldwin was on Santa Ana Valley’s first coaching staff, where he

was an assistant for six years before taking his first head coaching

job in 1965 at Santa Ana.

He worked for the Southern California Sun of the defunct World

Football League as a secondary coach and was the director of

personnel and vice president of football operations.

Two years later the league folded and Baldwin became a scout with

NFL Hall of Famer Tom Fears

In 1979, after briefly working in the insurance business, Baldwin

returned to Santa Ana for a third stint under Coach Tom Meiss as the

Saints won 10 straight games and the Century League title, while

reaching the CIF Southern Conference semifinals.

After coaching with Meiss, Baldwin returned to Valley as a head

coach (1981-’83), then wound up at Costa Mesa in 1984 to take over a

sagging program.

Following his run with the Mustangs, Baldwin served as an

assistant at Corona del Mar (1992-’93) and Chaffey College

(1994-’95), before returning to Costa Mesa, where he was an assistant

from 1996-2000. He became the defensive coordinator at Santa Ana

Valley for a year before returning to Costa Mesa as an assistant in

2002.

“It’s great for the school,” Bauermeister said. “It’s great for

the community. Tom is not only a good football man, he’s a great

person.”

Baldwin, like the other new hires, also teaches at Mesa. He

embraces his role teaching economics.

“At first I was a coach who taught,” Baldwin said. “Now I’m a

teacher who coaches.”

Baldwin has said that he never really wanted to be the head coach,

but would accept the job if it was offered to him.

“This isn’t the best situation, but I’m starting to get excited,”

he said. “The start of the season is right around the corner.”

Baldwin has always felt excitement for the game. When he went into

the insurance business in the late ‘70s, he was told he would get the

same rush out of sales that he did out of coaching.

“They said selling a million-dollar deal was the same excitement

as winning a football game,” he said. “Just taking the field was more

exciting.”