Jon Mack's illustrious head coaching career in football likely over
Jon Mack is planning to step down as the Hueneme High head football coach.
Although the 62-year-old didn’t use the word “retire,” it doesn’t sound like Ventura County’s second all-time winningest head coach plans to take charge of another football program.
“I love the game,” Mack said. “But I don’t know if I’m going to be a head coach again.”
Mack, who spent much of the past three decades winning football games at St. Bonaventure High, Ventura College and Oxnard High, amongst other stops, has been the head coach at Hueneme since 2020.
But he has spent much of the past three seasons caring for his nonagenarian mother, Jonelle, who died late last year, and himself.
Mack has been dealing with the symptoms of prostate cancer for nearly two years and recently underwent successful surgery to treat the disease.
“It’s indefinite how long I’m going to deal with this,” said Mack.
A football coach since 1982 and a head coach since 1990, when he was hired at St. Bonaventure, Mack described how his priorities have shifted.
“With the time demands of being a head coach, you have to make that the most important thing,” Mack said. “I really want to spend time with my grandkids.”
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District superintendent Tom McCoy said he expects Mack’s official letter of resignation to arrive Friday morning.
“We appreciate everything Jon has done for us,” McCoy said.
Ryan Frazier, who has been Hueneme’s interim head coach since the final week of the spring 2021 season, will continue in that role for the back-to-back unbeaten Citrus Coast League champion Vikings, according to McCoy.
“He basically ran it all last season,” Mack said. “I was really proud of him. … I’m real excited about the staff and the state of affairs at Hueneme.”
Mack mentioned recent fundraising and investment from the district that has upgraded facilities and equipment to “top notch” at Hueneme.
“We’ve got everything a coach would need now,” Mack said.
Eventually, the district will advertise the position nationally, due to policy.
"We have to fly the job and give people the opportunity to apply," McCoy said. "We don’t have a timeline for that because it’s still breaking."
One of the most successful football coaches in Ventura County history, Mack was 164-47-1 in 17 seasons at St. Bonaventure High, which included seven section championships, from 1990-2006 and 28-18 over four years at Oxnard High from 2015-18, which included Oxnard’s first sectional final in 90 years in 2018.
He was also 20-12 in three seasons at Ventura College and 23-9 in three years at Encino-Crespi. He also served Santa Clara High as Director of Development and Dean of Discipline from 2013 to 2015.
Frazier, who played for Mack at St. Bonaventure, called his former coach “one of the best coaches in this county’s history.”
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“I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done for me,” Frazier said.
Before St. Bonaventure head coach Joe Goyeneche played for coach Mack with the Seraphs, he served the program as a ball boy for seven years.
“He is everything to me and to St Bonaventure,” Goyeneche said. “All of our traditions, our blue collar work-ethic, family atmosphere … everything is because of Coach Mack.
“He instilled in me my passion for football and my love for St. Bonaventure. I am proud to honor him in doing what we did last year and intend on continuing to do so, year in and out.”
Still a physical education teacher at Hueneme, Mack plans to continue helping with the program.
“I’ll be at the Hueneme game this Friday, but without headphones,” Mack said.
He recently attended the preseason scrimmage between St. Bonaventure and Santa Maria-St. Joseph, coached by former two of his former players, Goyeneche and Pepe Villasenor.
He expects his future in football to be as a type of Coach Emeritus, who stays in the game by connecting with his former colleagues and players.
“It is exciting for me,” Mack said. “I really enjoy the game and coaching. It’s just doing it seven days a week and eight hours a day that’s (too much)."
Joe Curley covers high school, collegiate and professional football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. Follow him @vcsjoecurley on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Jon Mack's illustrious head coaching career in football likely over
