Welch Doesn't Say Much, But 'Excited to Be Back'

It's not very often that Harry Welch doesn't have something to say, but when the popular, successful and outgoing Santa Margarita Catholic football coach was reached Thursday night, he was a decidedly reserved man. 

Welch was reinstated this week as the coach at the school after having been placed on paid administrative leave Jan. 20. He had been investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Department for an incident in which he allegedly shoved, or pushed, a player on Dec. 13, between his team winning the Southern Section Pac-5 and CIF State Bowl championships.

Although cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Orange County District Attorney on Jan. 26, the school did not clear the way for his return until Wednesday, when school President Paul Carey and Principal Ray Dunne sent a letter to parents making the announcement. Clearly, there were conditions that Welch had to agree to in order to return following the review by the school and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

"I want to do the right thing for this school, the community and the kids," Welch, 67, said in his first comments to the media in almost a month. "I’m so excited to be back with the kids, the boys, the school and the families. I'm hoping soon to be able to say more than that. But for now, I’m very happy to be back."

That was the extent of Welch's comment as he looks to move past recent events that had onlookers poised at both ends of the spectrum. One of those, longtime Los Angeles Times prep columnist Eric Sondheimer, called for Welch's resignation, citing other events within the program as well, including two assistant coaches who were fired for possession of marijuana, and a junior varsity assistant who was fired for allegedly possessing cocaine.

Steve Fryer, prep columnist of the Orange County Register, opined that Welch should return but on a short leash attached to school administration.

And there are fans who are happy to have Welch back no matter the circumstances or conditions. On Tuesday night, parents and students gathered at Welch's home in Coto de Caza and held a rally to encourage him to return. 

One of the questions that seemed to dog Welch was whether he should be accountable for the coaches' actions, similar perhaps to a principal who may or may not be held accountable for teachers' transgressions.

When Welch was hired before the 2010 season, he was allowed to bring in two hired coaches. One of them was Sean Coen, who had been with him at St. Margaret's.

Coen, like assistant Robert Hendricks, played for Welch at Canyon Country Canyon. Both were initially charged with felony counts of marijuana possession but took a plea deal during the season that didn't become public until after the season. They were implicated along with Charles Spann, an offensive line coach at St. Margaret's.

The other Santa Margarita coach to run afoul of the law, Kevin Orton, was hired as a golf coach in 2010 but didn't become a junior varsity assistant football coach until 2011. The day before his arrest—while Welch was still on leave—he was a substitute teacher on campus.

All coaches must eventually be cleared by the Diocese of Orange, which conducted the original investigation of Coen and Hendricks and determined that they could remain at the school; as more information became available, the school fired them in an embarrassing about-face.

Welch has coached for decades and been extraordinarily successful, with a 244-51-2 career record. In the last six years, he has guided three different schools, including Canyon in 2006 and St. Margaret's in 2008, to State Bowl championships. His teams have won 28 of their last 29 playoff games, a remarkable record.

Welch guided Canyon to 46 consecutive victories from 1983-86, and had a heavy hand in St. Margaret's 44 consecutive victories from from 2006-09. His teams have won nine Southern Section championships.

Santa Margarita was coming off back-to-back 3-7 seasons when Welch was hired by the school following the resignation of Mike Jacot. The Eagles have since gone 22-5, including 13-2 in 2011 when they finished the season ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 10 nationally by Maxpreps and No. 27 by ESPNHS.

Welch, 67, serves as both the offensive and defensive coordinator, and doesn't use a headset during games to communicate with coaches in the pressbox.

During his first season, the Eagles went 9-3 and Welch had prostate cancer during a bye week; he never missed a game. He has since been named the annual king for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event in Rancho Santa Margarita.