Warrior football team to find place for Cal Lee

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i football team is working on a plan to hire St. Louis School athletic director Cal Lee as early as August, according to people familiar with the situation.

Several sources, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, told The Advertiser that a sponsor has been approached about raising money to create a noncoaching position — director of football operations — to make room for Lee. The director of football operations would be in charge of overseeing the team's budget, academics and scheduling.

According to the plan, either a UH assistant coach would be promoted to become director of football operations, opening the way for Lee to join the staff as an assistant coach, or Lee would be offered the director's job.

NCAA rules limit football teams to nine full-time, on-field assistant coaches.

If Lee is named director of football operations, he also would be allowed to remain as St. Louis' athletic director. If he joins UH as an on-field coach, he would have to sever ties to the St. Louis athletic department.

Lee retired as the Crusaders' head coach last August after his teams won 14 O'ahu Prep Bowl titles and one state tournament championship.

The director's job would be paid through the football team's booster club. Na Koa pays for about a third of UH head coach June Jones' $320,000 annual salary.

The director's position is expected to be created soon after the school names a successor to athletic director Hugh Yoshida in July. Yoshida's retirement is effective at the end of the year.

Lee, who was a finalist for the UH head coaching job in 1995 and 1998, has strong ties to the UH staff. His brother, Ron, is the receivers coach. Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive backs, played for Lee at Kaiser High in 1978 and 1979. Jones and his mentor, Mouse Davis, were helpful in Lee's implementing the run-and-shoot offense at Kaiser and St. Louis.

In March of last year, Jones asked Lee to replace assistant coach Dennis McKnight, who resigned to spend more time with his family and car-cleaning business in San Diego. Lee declined the offer, saying he owed a final season to last year's St. Louis seniors.

But by attending 12 of the Warriors' 15 spring practices in March, Lee fueled speculation he would join UH.

Yesterday, he restated an earlier comment that while he has retired as St. Louis' football coach, he was not through as a coach.