BREAKING NEWS

Corona del Mar High’s search for a football coach appears to be close to being finalized.

A source familiar with one of three candidates said Thursday afternoon that Trabuco Hills offensive coordinator Chad Johnson was told to meet with CdM school officials around 2 today about the Sea Kings’ position.

The other two candidates who interviewed this week along with Johnson were Irvine offensive coordinator Erik Terry and a coach from Colorado, said a source close to the situation asking for anonymity.

Johnson, 29, also strength and conditioning coach, helped the Mustangs reach the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division championship game last fall. Trabuco Hills lost, 13-12, to El Dorado at Orange Coast College. The Mustangs (12-2) won the Sea View League title with a 5-0 record and received the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. They outscored their first three opponents, 120-16, to reach the final.

David Peterson, CdM’s acting athletic director with Paul Orris recovering from recent brain aneurysm surgery, said today that nothing has been made official.

“I can’t report anything,” said Peterson, also CdM’s assistant principal, who didn’t comment on whether he met with Johnson today. “You know things take some time and we’re waiting to hear back from the [Newport-Mesa Unified School] district.”

Johnson, a history teacher, played football at Hofstra University, where he was an honorable mention All-American kicker.

Johnson, who played football at El Toro, appears to be the favorite to take over for former CdM Coach Dick Freeman, who said he was fired in December after 12-plus seasons, his last a 4-5 season in which the Sea Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

Terry, 38, has never been a head coach before on the varsity level, holding offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator positions. Terry was the offensive coordinator during Irvine’s section runner-up finish in 1999.

In the last couple of years, Terry has been legendary coach Terry Hennigan’s right-hand man.