"Call it March Madness in February for the Trinity League. Just one day after it was announced that Rod Sherman was no longer the football coach at Orange Lutheran, Servite announced on Tuesday that third-year coach Chris Reinert has stepped down. That means there will be three new head coaches in the league this fall, with JSerra already hiring Hardy Nickerson as its new coach."
"The movement started when Troy Thomas was ousted at Servite and replaced by Reinert in 2023. Thomas had won two Southern Section Division 1 titles in two stints for the Friars. Then Bruce Rollinson retired at Mater Dei followng the controversial 2022 season when the school faced a lawsuit and hired a law firm to produce a safety assessment. The president who promised to release the report was replaced."
"Santa Margarita made a coaching change after an alleged hazing incident in 2024. The school hired alumnus and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer, who enjoyed immediate success last season when the Eagles won Division 1 section and Open Division state titles. JSerra fired former Azusa Pacific coach Victor Santa Cruz last November after three seasons and hired Nickerson, a former NFL player and coach, in December as the new coach."
Three Trinity League programs will have new head football coaches this fall following recent departures at Orange Lutheran and Servite and an earlier hire at JSerra. Five of six league schools have changed coaches within three years; only St. John Bosco and coach Jason Negro remain intact since 2010. Coaching changes followed ousters, retirements, controversy and alleged hazing, and included interim and high-profile hires such as Carson Palmer and Hardy Nickerson. Mater Dei replaced a long-tenured coach after a contentious 2022 season, and several programs have made multiple coaching moves amid strong performance expectations.
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