O’Dowd’s Hardy Nickerson named coach at JSerra in SoCal

OAKLAND — Just five days after winning a state championship, Bishop O’Dowd head football coach Hardy Nickerson is on the move. 

Nickerson has accepted a job to become the next head coach at JSerra Catholic-San Juan Capistrano of the powerhouse Trinity League, the school announced on Wednesday. 

He will become the first Black head football coach in the league’s history.

High School on SI was the first to report the news.

Nickerson, who was in his fourth year of his second stint at the Oakland school, led O’Dowd to three consecutive North Coast Section postseason appearances and to a Division 5-AA state championship this year, beating Christian-El Cajon 37-0 on Friday. 

“Coach Nickerson’s leadership helped elevate our football program and provided meaningful experiences for our student-athletes,” Dr. Doug Evans, Principal of Bishop O’Dowd High School, said in a statement to the Bay Area News Group. “We are grateful for his contributions and for the culture of excellence he helped strengthen at O’Dowd. We wish him every success in what comes next.”

In one of the most active coaching carousels to date, Nickerson lands one of the state’s premier jobs, which will pay up to $200,000, according to the job posting. He edged out many big name candidates that were rumoured to be in the mix, including Philip Rivers, who came out of retirement last week to start at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

“I am very pleased to inform you that we hired Hardy Nickerson as our varsity head coach,” JSerra said in an email to the school’s football parents. “Coach Nickerson was chosen from a field of applicants that was over 100 strong.”

Nickerson will be returning to his home region. The graduate of Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles will take over for former JSerra coach Victor Santa Cruz, who was dismissed last month. 

Following O’Dowd’s state championship win on Friday, Nickerson praised his team for its resilience after a 1-3 start to the season. 

“I’m just proud of this team, so proud of these young men,” Nickerson said. “They were dead in the water at 1-3, but the kids just kept buying in, kept working and kept coming to practice and things started to turn around. And now, here we are.”

O’Dowd is slated to return nearly its entire roster next season, but Nickerson was hesitant to comment on the future of the program after Friday’s game.

When asked if the future of his team excites him, he said, “We’re going to celebrate tonight and then we’ll move forward.”

O’Dowd will begin its search for Nickerson’s replacement immediately.

“The school will begin a thoughtful process to identify the next leader of Dragon football, with a focus on supporting student-athletes and sustaining a program grounded in character, competition, and community,” O’Dowd said in the statement.

Nickerson ended his second stint at O’Dowd with a 31-18 record.