SANTA ANA – Bruce Rollinson coached Mater Dei’s football team to eight CIF Southern Section championships and four state championships.
Rollinson’s teams were named national champions five times. He retired after the 2022 season with 341 career wins, an Orange County football record.
Who would want the wild challenge of replacing him?
Frank McManus wanted it and got it.
McManus, a member of the Mater Dei football program for 16 years including the past seven as a varsity assistant coach working with the defensive backs, was named Rollinson’s successor on Feb. 16.
“It started as a passion for football,” McManus said Tuesday during an interview at Mater Dei, where he is a resident substitute teacher. “But my interest in the students themselves is what made me go ‘I want to do this as the head coach.’”
The hiring process was a long one. Interviews began in earnest in January. Mater Dei president Michael Brennan set Feb. 1 as a target date to announce the coach. The number and variety of candidates, the Diocese of Orange’s increased participation in the process and how important it was to make the hire one that would last, pushed everything past the target date.
McManus, 47, is married with five children and also is a grandfather. The red-haired, red-bearded coach is known for his high energy, especially during pregame warmups, and and the love his players have for him.
He is confident he is ready to replace Rollinson.
“I’ve been coaching a long time,” he said. “When I got on campus I fell in love with the school, with the students, the players obviously and the families. I put myself in position for this opportunity.”
As a high school student, McManus attended Mater Dei for one year. When his parents divorced he transferred to La Quinta where he played football as a safety, receiver and running back and returned kicks and punts in the early 1990s.
He married soon after graduating from La Quinta.
“I was going to play football at…
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