Oct. 08--There was loud rap music blaring from the public address system as Jeff Engilman strolled onto the football field. A high school coach since the 1970s and about to turn 65 in less than a week, Engilman was in a reflective, jovial mood when asked whether the pregame music had changed through the years.
"Everything has changed, buddy. My eyesight's changed," he said, laughing.
As the only coach in City Section history to guide three different teams to City championships, and with 243 career victories, Engilman came out of retirement last year to help his former assistant, Dan Kelley, the second-year head coach at Santa Clarita Golden Valley.
"Nice," is how he puts it when asked how it feels not to be a head coach. "Sometimes I'll question calls, but other than that, I'm here to help him."
Kelley has already won more games this season -- four -- than any coach since Golden Valley started playing varsity football in 2005. The Grizzlies have never won a Foothill League game. They're 0-45 over the last nine seasons going into their league opener against Valencia on Friday night. To get Engilman back on the field after he stepped down at Arleta following the 2010 season has certainly helped Golden Valley's chances.
Engilman won Division I championships at Sylmar in 1992 and 1994. He was co-coach at Manual Arts when the team won 3A titles in 1983 and 1984. He started Arleta's program in 2006 and won a Division II title in 2008. All the while, he was known for his fiery demeanor.
"When I was playing for him, I was scared of that dude," said Golden Valley assistant George Fields, who played at Sylmar in the late 1990s.
Times have changed.
"You have to watch yourself," Engilman said. "There's a couple times I wanted to go off on somebody, but I'm not the head coach. Some people say I've mellowed. Well, I have."
A little bit. He said his face "still gets red. My eyes will still bug out."
"You should have seen last week," he said. "We had a kid not go in on PATs twice. The same kid. He got an earful."
Kelley played for Engilman at Sylmar, then was his assistant at Sylmar and Arleta. "I hope I can keep him around as much as I can," he said of Engilman.
Kelley must know how to get along with people, because he has two other former head coaches on his staff, Fred Grimes of North Hollywood and Eric Harris of Panorama City St. Genevieve. He can use all the help he can get facing tough competition from longtime powers Newhall Hart, Valencia and Canyon Country Canyon.
Engilman helps coach the offensive line and special teams. He smiles a lot more as an assistant. He was even taking care of the water bottles, something usually reserved for a manager.
"Did Tom Osborne do stuff like this?" he said.
It's doubtful many Golden Valley players would know about Osborne, Nebraska's Hall of Fame coach from the 1970s, '80s and '90s.
Then again, Engilman would never be able to identify the name of any rap musician.
"It's a different time," he said.
eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
