Surprise, surprise, Covina hires from within after all and names Joe Brown head coach

Covina High School has hired from within after all.

Longtime assistant coach Joe Brown was named the Colts new head coach on Wednesday, replacing Darryl Thomas who resigned earlier this month after 15 years at the helm.

Brown has been the Colts’ offensive coordinator since 2005 and on staff since 1996.

“They offered it to me when we got back from Christmas break and I thought about it for a few days and politely turned it down,” said Brown, who is a 1990 graduate of Wilson. “After thinking about it, I’ve been here 16 years. I live right by the scohool. I still want to coach. I had opportunities to coach in some other programs, but I just decided it would be better if I stayed here at Covina and took the responsibility.”

After Brown and other on-campus options turned the job down, Covina decided to fly the position and had an estimated 12-15 applicants. The application process was set to end on Friday and interviews would have began next week. Not anymore.

Brown doesn’t exactly step into a great situation, with several key players from the ’11 graduating in June and the program’s top returner Gevontray Ainsworth jetting for Monrovia on Tuesday. But, it’s Covina and things go in cycles, as we all know.

Brown was called the plays in 2005 and 2006 when the Colts averaged 43 and 42 points per game, respectively. Covina averaged 36 points per game this past season.

No word yet on a staff or whether Brown will continue to call the plays.

Aram’s take: I like the hire. The numbers don’t lie: When Brown has the weapons, he knows what to do with them, i.e. ’05, ’06, ’11. But the main weapon for next season, Gevontray Ainsworth, just left for Monrovia. So, C-Town is back in rebuilding mode. Brown said he will do his best to keep the Vikings talent that comes thru Trawick still going to Covina. Can’t wait to see what kind of staff he puts together.

Folow me on Twitter @ChemicalAT