Monterey grad Calhoun named head football coach at Mission Prep

Vernon Calhoun learned of the opening at Mission College Prep only because the football program is slated to face St. Francis of Watsonville this coming fall.

“It was through a text,” said Calhoun, St. Francis’ offensive coordinator. “I’m thinking they won’t have a coach or a system. I wasn’t thinking about being a head football coach again.”

Yet, when the position came with an administrative role, the 2004 Monterey High graduate and Seaside native began to rethink his position, filling out a resume 48 hours later.

“I interviewed last Friday,” Calhoun said. “I was hired on Tuesday. We have our first 7-on-7 when I get down there next Saturday. I will be crashing at a friend’s house.”

Calhoun, who spent five years as a head coach at Marina from 2012-2017, will put the headset back on after being named the new coach for the San Luis Obispo-based private school.

With the head coaching position, Calhoun will also serve as an assistant athletic director and assist in the enrollment department for the school.

A former running back and linebacker at Monterey, Calhoun has spent the last eight years as an assistant at St. Francis, the last six years as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Prior to that, Calhoun took the reins of a Marina program that had never won a game in 11-man football, to its first-ever win in 2012, and its first winning season in his final year in 2017.

Mission College Prep, which reached the postseason last year despite a 3-7 record, is a high school with an enrollment of 260 kids. It will host St. Francis on August 29.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 8:39 AM.