New Curtis High School football coach has a reputation for turning programs around
When the head football coaching job at Curtis High School opened this winter, Darren McKay knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
The school in University Place has a special place in McKay’s heart. In addition to living only seven minutes away, his wife and son are graduates.
So when Chris Paulson, Curtis’s coach for the last five seasons resigned in November, the 56-year-old jumped at the chance to coach in his hometown community.
“The tradition (Curtis) has is amazing. I’ve been an opposing coach, and I’ve been a parent at that stadium on a Friday night. And so that Friday Night Lights kind of atmosphere is a real thing,” said McKay.
The district received 17 applicants from three states, but McKay’s application stood out.
Suzanne Vick, the district’s athletic director said, “What made Coach McKay stand out more than anything was his experience. He was able to formulate a very specific plan on how he is going to create an amazing Viking football experience. He is the right person to fulfill that vision.”
McKay comes to Curtis with over 25 years of coaching experience. After graduating from Wilson High School, he coached Timberline from 1995-1999, Gig Harbor from 2000-2012 and most recently Todd Beamer from 2012-2019.
Turning programs around
McKay has a reputation for turning football programs around. Before arriving at Todd Beamer, the Titans had never had a winning season. McKay led Todd Beamer to 4A NPSL titles in 2016 and 2018.
“This is the fourth program I’ll be taking over, and all of them had losing records when we came in,” said McKay.
McKay is optimistic he can repeat his success at Curtis. For a team that won only one game in the 4A SPSL last season, McKay is ready to take on one of the most competitive leagues in Washington high school sports.
“Top to bottom it’s a really, really good league, and it’s a well coached league. I don’t think you’re going to find yourself out-coaching anybody because they’re just all so well coached,” said McKay.
After being hired in mid-February to take over the Curtis High School and Junior High School football programs, McKay met with his players and began workouts.
Coronavirus delay
That all changed when a month later, Gov. Jay Inslee closed Washington schools due to the coronavirus pandemic.
McKay was hopeful school would return, but when he was told that school would not be returning for the remainder of the school year, he prepared for the worst.
“We had a pretty good idea that we weren’t going to get to do the in-person workouts and the chance to start in the fall was getting slimmer and slimmer,” said McKay.
So, when the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced that high school football was being pushed back until February of next year, McKay’s worst fears were confirmed. A job that was going to be hard to begin with just became harder.
“What we found in the past is that before you really get into too much scheme stuff, it’s really more about getting to know your kids and putting them in stressful situations and seeing how they react. That probably is the toughest part is we’re not getting that time anymore, to be able to be with our kids to kind of get to know what makes them tick,” said McKay.
Vick hopes this time allows McKay to get to know his players better.
“I hope that it gives him an opportunity to build connections with kids that he wouldn’t have been able to build,” said Vick.”
McKay said that during a normal summer he would usually conduct around 20 OTAs (organized team activities) between June 1 and Aug. 1 in preparation for the season. Without that training this year, McKay is telling his players to continue working out.
“I told the kids one of the No. 1 things they can do is run. You don’t have to pile on marathons and things, but when we get the go, we don’t want to spend two and a half weeks conditioning. We want to be ready for situational football,” said McKay.
In the meantime, McKay has been conducting meetings through Google Meet. Vick said she has seen almost 100 football athletes join these meetings. She said that she could tell the athletes are excited to play for McKay and be a part of his program.
Run-first offense
Even though McKay has not seen much of what his players are capable of doing, he hopes to build a physical running team before anything else. He said that does not mean he does not like to throw the ball.
McKay said that when Todd Beamer won the league championship two years ago, he had a quarterback that threw for 2,000 yards and a running back that ran for 1,000 yards.
“Once we get a chance to be with our kids, we’ll have a better idea, but we still want to be a power running game,” said McKay.
That also means McKay won’t have a clear sense of what his starting team might look like until the season begins. In the past, he would have OTAs and scrimmages to have a clearer idea of which players can make the plays that others can’t.
With limited practice time before games begin, McKay said he might not be able to find out what his players are capable of until they actually play in a game.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to do this, but it is the first time doing it in a pandemic,” said McKay. “We are probably going to go in Week 1 and have kids that are playing out of position because we’re only going to have the preseason this time around.”
If there is a philosophy McKay hopes to teach his kids, it is to stay disciplined. McKay said the game is tough enough without his players committing silly penalties and turnovers.
McKay said, “If you’re giving the ball to the other team, you’re contributing to beating yourself. Being disciplined and not beating yourself is something that we’ll try to get through on Day 1.”
More than football
More than anything, McKay hopes his players can make an impact on the community around them.
He likes to let his players know they’re special, but no more special then the students they sit next to in class. He hopes his players have a positive influence on the people around them.
That’s what Vick saw in him throughout the hiring process.
“Coach McKay is connected to the community. He’s committed to this community and the kids in University Place and I see him being very instrumental in our youth program, too,” Vick said.
McKay hopes to take Curtis to the next level this coming season and for many seasons to come. He knows it’s just the start but he is excited to go.
McKay also will be teaching social studies classes and weight training at the high school.
“I would say more than anything to be able to get Coach McKay on our staff is exciting. He’s a game changer for our kids, and he’s going to fit our vision of being excellent in the classroom, in the community and competition,” said Vick.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.