Why El Capitan is searching for another head football coach for a fourth straight year

El Capitan High is searching for a new head football coach after Jordan Irsik announced recently that he was resigning after just one season, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

The arrival of a new coach means the Gauchos will have four different head coaches in the past four years.

Irsik led the Gauchos to a 4-10 season, which is the most victories since the school opened in 2013.

But Irsik said the long hours from coaching football — even during the offseason — are keeping him away from his family too much.

“We know what we signed up for during football season,” Irsik said. “But I’ve been coming home at 9 p.m. and leaving my wife by herself to take care of the baby for 14 hours a day.

“With no family support nearby, it got to be too much. I can’t prioritize my job over family. I’ve been around other coaches who have gone through this and I know coaches who have lost family over football.”

Irsik said he plans to move back to the Sacramento area, where they will have more family support. He also plans to coach part-time at Folsom High.

“It was an incredibly difficult decision because of the relationships I’ve made with the coaches, players and people here,” Irsik said. “Especially after the amount of time and effort we put in this last 15 months.

“This is something we’ve been thinking about for months.”

Irsik’s departure continues the revolving door for head coach of the Gauchos football program.

The next coach will be the fourth head coach in four seasons, and the eighth head coach since the program started in 2013.

The Gauchos have yet to have a winning season in school history. And in the five seasons combined prior to Irsik taking the job, El Capitan went 3-41.

“We need someone who is ready to set roots here and stay,” El Capitan principal Megan Cope said. “We need that stability.”

Many of the other Merced County schools have enjoyed success much because of their own coaching stability.

Programs like Merced, Golden Valley, Hilmar and Los Banos all have longtime head coaches in place in Rob Scheidt, Rick Martinez, Frank Marques and Dustin Caropreso, respectively.

Cope, El Capitan’s principal, said she was surprised when Irsik informed the school he was resigning.

“I think it’s frustrating that we accomplished what we accomplished last year, and now we have to replace the head coach,” said Cope, El Capitan’s principal. “At the end of the day, it’s not one person. It’s the athletes, coaches, parents and the whole community.”

The school already has three coaching candidates set to interview on Friday.

“I’m looking for a coach with integrity, someone motivated and someone who is there for our student athletes,” Cope said, “and focused on them working hard to become good citizens of the community.”