Costa Mesa names Gary Gonzalez as football coach

Costa Mesa High School announced Wednesday that Gary Gonzalez will be the new head coach of the Mustangs’ football program.

Gonzalez, 35, who graduated from Costa Mesa in 2004, has been involved with the football program as an assistant coach for eight years.

About three dozen students sat in the bleachers of the Costa Mesa football stadium as Costa Mesa Principal Jake Haley introduced Gonzalez to them.

“I am very honored to have this title,” Gonzalez said in his first remarks as head coach. “It means a lot to me. I’m very honored to lead you young men and women, and it is my duty to make sure that you guys have a great experience playing football and to build a culture where you thrive academically, and on the field, as well.”

Costa Mesa’s new head football coach Gary Gonzalez raises his hand in unison with his team during a meeting on Wednesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

A history teacher at Costa Mesa, Gonzalez has already brought in three assistant coaches that teach at the school, giving the program a significant on-campus presence among its leadership.

Those coaches will include Mike Ofer (quarterbacks), Christopher Flores (defensive coordinator) and Hunter MacDonald (wide receiver and defensive backs). Ofer played quarterback at Newport Harbor in the early 1990s.

“We’re just fortunate that now … we’ve got four on-campus coaches that are going to give to our program — potentially more, as [Gonzalez] starts to kind of see who else might be interested,” Haley said.

“The last time I saw that was when I was at Laguna Hills High School. That’s the last time I saw that many guys, so we’re excited about that. You got that many kids surrounded by good adults that care on them and want to get them better as people and as athletes, we’re going to be in a good spot.”

Gonzalez, who said he lined up at tight end and outside linebacker during his playing days with the Mustangs, emphasized the importance of the weight room.

Costa Mesa’s new head coach Gary Gonzalez has been involved with the football program as an assistant coach for eight years.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“My big thing is weight room,” Gonzalez said. “I love the weight room. I want each and every one of you to … get in the weight room and to set goals, challenge yourself each and every day. We’re going to go to the weight room four days a week. … You guys should be excited, as am I, to get in that weight room four days a week.”

Costa Mesa has endured a coaching carousel since 2014, which was Wally Grant’s final season at the helm for the Mustangs. The program has also seen Glen Fisher, Jimmy Nolan, Bill Lux and Van Tuinei take the reins in the years to follow.

The Mustangs returned to the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 2013 this past season, a remarkable feat considering what the program had been through. In September 2020, Nolan’s family was involved in a fatal two-car accident that resulted in the loss of his daughter Micki and the driver of the other vehicle.

Haley had an appreciation for the role that Gonzalez played in helping the program following the incident, which he said left the school “heartbroken.”

“Gary was the one who kept everything moving forward,” Haley said, recalling his efforts during the trying times. “Gary was the one who was the key communicator to parents, to our greater community, kept in touch … through Bill Lux and other assistant coaches … on how Jimmy was doing and the family and what we could do. He coached our first game that season, and we had a really good outing.”

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