Lee says he's firm on stepping down

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

One day into his "retirement" as St. Louis School football coach, Cal Lee said he is ... well, still retired.

Cal Lee retired as St. Louis football coach after 21 successful seasons. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I'm still retired," Lee said. "I think people are going every which way as far as what I'm gonna do, but the truth is, I don't know. And until I know for sure, I'm not going to say."

Lee, the school's athletic director, does know this: The next St. Louis coach will need to be committed to the job. He did not rule out someone from the outside filling the position, but he said the helm is not for everybody.

"Whoever it is, he's gotta really want to coach football here," Lee said. "It's not going to be a one-year deal. It's going to be a long-term thing and he's gotta have a feel for our kids. It has to be a special guy."

Although St. Louis defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan and offensive coordinator Vince Passas have been mentioned as likely candidates, Lee said he has yet to speak to either regarding the job. Tengan also is St. Louis' varsity boys basketball coach.

"I'll probably talk to Delbert about it on Monday," Lee said. "He would be the ideal guy, because he teaches here and he knows the school. But I know he loves basketball, and he goes right into it (once football ends). To be head coach for both, I don't think anybody would want that."

Tengan has been working with Lee for 16 years, as a student teacher, trainer, physical education teacher and assistant coach.

"Ideally, it would be someone from the staff, someone who knows the system and knows the kids," Lee said. "Then the rest would fall into place."

Passas does not work on campus. Lee said linebackers coach Tim Seaman, a former head coach at McKinley and Kaiser, is not interested in taking over at St. Louis. Seaman teaches at Kaiser and is busy raising a young family.

"I talked to Tim, and he doesn't want it," Lee said. "Being a head coach is like a full-time job, at least for nine months out of the year. There's a lot of work to be done, there are so many coaches, so many players you have to worry about ... their academics. Some people might think it's a part-time, weekend job, but it takes a lot of hours and dedication for the long haul. There's a lot of time and energy involved."

Despite the apparent difficulty in finding a successor, Lee said he is confident it can be done. He added there is no set timetable, although he expects it to be settled by the end of the school year.

"We wanna make sure we get it right," Lee said. "I'm sure that someone is out there."

Lee said he spent some time yesterday reflecting, but otherwise it was the normal day after the season. He slept, caught some college football on TV, thought a little bit about Friday night's 21-14 loss to Kahuku in the state championship game.

"There's always questions — if we should've done this or that — and you feel a little sorrow for the kids because it's the last game of the season," Lee said. "But they played hard, and that's satisfying."

As for next year?

"We're not really thinking about it yet," Lee said. "We have time. We'll get this thing figured out."