He looked like the right man for the job. However, like the saying goes, looks can be deceiving.
Only hours after embracing Coan as the new Bulldogs coach, the Burbank Unified School District and the school's administration did an about-face.
There was something questionable in the coach's background that prompted the district to rescind the job offer. That decision was followed shortly by the official word that Coan would not be hired as the Burbank football coach.
The decision was a surprise to many who thought that Coan had already taken his place at Burbank.
However, when the reason for Coan's dismissal was brought to light, the district and the school made the right decision in letting him go.
Shortly after Coan was named as coach, I interviewed him about his football history, his approach to the game and his experience, among other things. As our conversation came to a close, Coan brought up another subject on his own.
The coach said he had been offered the head coaching job at Sun Valley Poly High, an L.A. City Section School, and although he had led the team in practice, he had only given the school a verbal commitment.
Apparently, that wasn't entirely true. Poly confirmed that Coan was hired on March 5 and signed a teaching contract on March 12. That meant the coach was actually employed when he applied for — and was offered — the vacant Burbank job.
The administration at Poly was informed of Coan's resignation via e-mail on Tuesday.
The Poly administration was so miffed at Coan's handling of the situation that the school's principal met with Burbank Principal Bruce Osgood to inform him of the coach's bail-out.
That meeting prompted Burbank to take back its offer to Coan.
