San Marino named Mike Mooney its head coach on Monday, ending weeks of speculation that the former USC fullback would take over for D.R. Moreland, who resigned in late March.

Mooney, a Temple City grad, was San Marino’s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. San Marino gave Mooney his first head coach job in 1996. He left after the 1998 season to become head coach at Temple City where his teams won four Rio Hondo League championships between 1999-2006.

Mooney left Temple City after the 2006 season to take the assistant principal position he holds today. Mooney will be both an assistant principal and head coach at San Marino, something he was not allowed to do at Temple City, which led to his departure.

Aram’s take: Uh … I’m gonna resist saying anything about TC. My hope is that Mooney’s name is enough to keep San Marino’s better talent from playing in another places, like Loyola or La Salle. This is a coup for San Marino football. But as good of a coach as Mooney is, he’ll need players to take things to the next level. Meanwhile, Temple City remains on the prowl for its next head coach (I almost lasted).