Football coach Rod Sherman out at Orange Lutheran after five seasons
After five seasons as football coach at Orange Lutheran, Rod Sherman is leaving. The school announced Monday that “effective today, Rod Sherman has completed his tenure as head football coach.”
Last week, there was speculation about Sherman’s future after a social media post indicated he was no longer coaching. In response to a text message, Sherman said he was still head coach.
Sherman, who also helped his wife, Kristen, coach flag football at Orange Lutheran, went 3-9 last season, including two forfeit losses. In the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Lancers defeated No. 1 seed St. John Bosco.
His team won a Southern Section Division 2 championship in 2021 and went 33-29 overall in five seasons. This was his second stint at Orange Lutheran. He had been an assistant coach and athletic director starting in the 1990s, when Jim Kunau was head coach, then left to become head coach at Colorado. The school said it would launch a search for Sherman’s replacement.
His wife is still listed as Orange Lutheran’s flag football coach, but that is expected to change, too.
The team’s general manager, Kyla Laulhere, and offensive line coach Chris Ward will lead the program until a new head coach is named. Ward, a graduate of Mater Dei and UCLA, has no interest in becoming a head coach. Offensive coordinator Austin Pettis, an Orange Lutheran graduate, could be one of the top candidates.
Coaching in the Trinity League has become similar to coaching a college or NFL team. Expectations are so high that failing to win at the highest level could result in a coaching change within three to five years. JSerra also made a change last season. Santa Margarita had a first-year coach last year, alumnus Carson Palmer, who won a Division 1 and state title.
