Posted on: Friday, June 6, 2003

Ex-Crusader happy with assistant role

Advertiser Staff

Former Saint Louis School all-state quarterback John Hao Jr. yesterday said he did not apply for the vacant Saint Louis head coaching position and added he was comfortable in his current position as the Crusaders quarterbacks coach.

An Internet report yesterday indicated that Hao would be the new Saint Louis football coach. The report quoted unnamed sources close to the school.

"I didn't apply," Hao said. "I didn't put my name in."

Saint Louis, the defending state champion and the most successful football program in the state, has been without a head football coach since April 22 when Delbert Tengan announced his resignation. Tengan succeeded Cal Lee in March 2002 and served as head coach for one season.

Hao, 30, said he did not interview for the job and did not call the selection committee about the head coaching position.

"I just want to coach the quarterbacks at Saint Louis," said Hao, who works at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard as a marine machinery mechanic.

Rebecca Fernandes, Saint Louis' marketing and public relations director, called the Internet report a "rumor" and added "at this time, it's wrong."

She said the school could make an announcement on the new coach early next week. The school has received more than a dozen applications for the coaching position, Fernandes said.

A search committee that includes Lee and representatives from the student body, parents, alumni and administration have sorted through the applications and are finishing interviews, Fernandes said.

Hao quarterbacked the Crusaders to two Prep Bowl titles in 1989 and 1990 and earned all-state honors both years. Hao played four years for the University of Hawai'i after redshirting his first season in 1991.

Hao played in Finland in 1997 with the European League. He has been the quarterbacks coach the past three years at Saint Louis.