Tim Mulvehill is the latest face brought on this season to try and lead the Yuba College football team back from a difficult stretch that featured back-to-back winless campaigns and a 1-9 season in 2023.
Mulvehill comes from Placer High School and is bringing almost an entirely fresh staff to help “revive, refresh and rebrand this football program.” He previously coached wide receivers at Placer, a prep Division IV school out of the ultra-competitive Sac-Joaquin Section. Mulvehill’s staff this year includes several faces that he says he trusts completely to help run the show.
“We all support each year,” Mulvehill said.
Coaching the offense will be Maurice Hayden Sr., a man with over three decades experience on the field. Defensively, Charles Howard will run the show to try and help a unit that finished 50th in the California Community College Athletic Association ranks a year ago, relinquishing an average of over 30 points per game. Helping Howard on defense will be newcomers Brian Lee, Jonathan Serna and Todd Bonner joining forces with the one veteran left on the staff, Bob Miller.
Mulvehill said retaining Miller was a “no-brainer” decision. Together the 2024 Yuba College football coaches look to guide a team that finished 1-28 the last three seasons while competing in the American Pacific 7 – a conference that features teams like defending champion and reigning unbeaten Foothill, De Anza College, Hartnell, Los Medanos, College of the Redwoods, College of the Siskiyous and Yuba College. Siskiyous is the one team that Yuba beat last year under former coach Mike Pomfret, snapping a 23-game losing streak that dated back to November 2019.
Mulvehill knows the job at hand is a tall one, and he is hoping for four wins this year.
“It is a rebuild process,” Mulvehill said.
It begins and ends with building relationships, not only with local members of the business community to help fill the stands each week, but convincing the football talent locally to remain in the area. Mulvehill is committed to recruiting talent from Sutter, Colusa and other areas as well as traveling the state from San Diego to the Oregon border to remake his roster. He has still Aug. 10 to finalize his 2024 roster in time for the team’s 97th annual Blue and Gold scrimmage, held Aug. 22 on the Marysville campus at 6 p.m. Yuba College’s season opener is on the road Sept. 7 at San Jose City College in what Mulvehill calls a “first big road test.”
Coalinga is Yuba’s first home game Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. In fact, each of Yuba College’s home contests will start at 6 p.m. under the lights.
“My motto is fill the stands 49er fans,” Mulvehill said. “We got to bring Yuba football back on the map.”
A solid football pedigree
Mulvehill comes here with a solid pedigree. He has coached all across the country and has built quite a rolodex of solid football minds throughout his career. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy names is former Miami head football coach Larry Coker, who helped the Hurricanes to an unbeaten season in 2001, becoming just the second rookie head coach in major college football at the time to finish the year undefeated.
Coker’s Hurricanes in 2001 are widely considered as one of the greatest teams of all-time loaded with multiple first-round picks Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Vince Wilfork, and at least one Hall of Famer in Ed Reed, according to a report from ESPN. Miami ran through most everybody that year, culminated by a 37-14 win over Nebraska in the BCS National Championship.
Coker has known Mulvehill over 40 years and the two have developed a strong bond during their four-decade-plus run together.
“It’s been wonderful to see his journey both personally and professionally,” Coker said in a statement. “Coach Mulvehill has exceptional leadership skills, a deep understanding of the game, and an uncanny ability to connect with and motivate players. He’s the perfect person to rebrand and refresh the Yuba College 49ers Football Program, continuing its proud football tradition.”
In the ever-changing landscape of college football, headlined by super conference realignment, transfer portal and NIL money, Coker said coaches today are challenged like never before.
“Navigating the complexities of the transfer portal can be both a boon and a challenge. The NIL opportunities have added a new layer to recruiting and player management,” Coker said. “Plus, the pressure to win immediately has intensified, making it essential for coaches to adapt quickly and effectively.”
Coker’s advice to Mulvehill in today’s world is to “stay true to your coaching philosophy and focus on developing your players both on and off the field.”
“Patience and perseverance are crucial, especially when you’re revitalizing a program,” he added.
Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
