| 2009 Yale athletics file photo |
LOS ANGELES — The Occidental College football team has a new leader.
Doug Semones, formerly an assistant head coach at Yale University, accepted Oxy's head football coaching job on Monday, taking over for Bill Redell, who retired shortly after the 2012 season.
"It's a great opportunity and a great challenge to bring Oxy back to the tradition of excellence that they've had for a long time," Semones said. "That's the goal."
Semones spent three seasons at Yale from 2009-11 where he worked with the outside linebackers, coached the defensive line and recruited very similar types of academically gifted student-athletes that Oxy attracts. This past season he was teaching and coaching in the high school ranks in New Haven, Conn.
"Doug comes highly recommended and has a proven track record of success at multiple levels," Occidental athletic director Jaime Hoffman said. "He has a contagious enthusiasm, a passion for football and a great understanding of what it takes to be successful at Oxy. We're very excited to have him as our new head coach."
Before his stop in the Ivy League, Semones coached at various places around the country in high school, college and pro.
He won four OIA Championships and went 68-14-2 in seven seasons as the head coach (1989-95) at Kahuku HS in Hawaii and later had a three-year stint as the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of Hawaii from 1996-98. Shortly after his tenure with Hawaii, he was the defensive and special teams coordinator for the Hawaiian Islanders of the Arena Football League.
Semones was most recently the defensive coordinator at Hillhouse HS in New Haven, Conn. where he helped the team to the 2012 Class M state championship.
"I've coached everything from Pop Warner to professional football where guys got paid so I love the game and it's similar on all levels," Semones said. "You've got to put the work in to be successful and have fun. We're going to have fun at Oxy."
Semones grew up in Mesa, Ariz. and then later played defensive back at Scottsdale Community College and Cal Lutheran, where he earned his BS in Physical Education in 1983. In 1994, he earned masters in special education at the University of Hawaii.
Doug will relocate to Southern California with his wife Linda. He has two children that are collegiate student-athletes. His 22-year-old son Jake is a junior baseball player and former football player at Yale and his daughter C.J. is an 18-year-old freshman softball player at Georgetown.