Fallbrook High has hired Patrick Schmidt to guide the school's troubled football program.
Schmidt last coached 15 years ago when he was an assistant at Long Beach State, which dropped football after the 1991 season. The UCLA graduate went into private business and is the chief executive officer of FFF Enterprises Inc., a Temecula-based healthcare corporation.
Fallbrook Athletic Director John Hayek said there were a couple dozen applicants for the job. Previous head coach Dennis Houlihan resigned after using a booster club debit card to make ATM withdrawals at a brothel in Nevada, a strip club in Oceanside and for a liquor-store purchase, among other transactions.
Houlihan is on paid leave from his teaching position in the district, pending a determination in the case, which is under investigation by the county sheriff's department.
“Patrick's the right guy at the right time,” said Hayek, who noted that Schmidt will be an off-campus coach, retaining his position with FFF Enterprises. “When you sit down and talk with him, you realize football is his passion.”
Schmidt, who was not available for comment yesterday, inherits a program that was 5-6 last year.
Steve Brand: (619) 293-1854; steve.brand@uniontrib.com
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