VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Staff of Life : Kennedy Coach Bob Francola Has Surrounded Himself With Six Full-Time Assistants Who Provide More Than Football Expertise, They’re Loyal Friends

GRANADA HILLS —  Bob Francola wouldn’t rip up a winning lottery ticket but he already feels wealthy.

Francola, 51, is a career-long teacher and football coach in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which by definition means his wealth must be measured by more than money.

And it is.

The Kennedy High coach of 14 seasons has accumulated a diverse portfolio of six full-time assistants who offer more expertise, friendship and loyalty than a broker, bartender and barber.

A half-dozen assistants might be the standard issue at top-end Southern Section schools. But City programs often are so understaffed, when a coach wants to look a dedicated ally in the eye, he’d better find a mirror.

The Kennedy crew consists of high achievers whose backgrounds are intertwined in intriguing ways. And they’ve helped the Golden Cougars (2-0) to a No. 8 ranking in The Times’ regional poll by installing a potent run-and-shoot offense in a matter of months.

Their names? Not so fast.

Assistant coaches at any level could join a witness-protection program and be no less anonymous. Glory belongs to players, quotes come from head coaches.

Yet the Kennedy assistants have known the limelight.

One is a former head coach.

Another was the most successful girls’ basketball coach ever at a City school in the Valley.

Two played in the NFL.

Two others coached at the college level.

Three were Kennedy players.

Four starred in college.

All six join Francola for postgame refreshments at the nearby Safari Room.

“I’ve known every guy for at least 10 years,” Francola said. “Some are like sons. Some are like brothers.

“I’m willing to turn over a great deal of my team to my assistants. Other coaches have told me they could never do that. To me, it’s the only way we can be successful.”

While not a City power, Kennedy has been a consistent winner under Francola, whose record is 87-57-4, with conference championships in 1986, ’91 and ’95.

This season--the first that this mix of assistants has convened--promises to be one of the best. And if it ends on a down note, there’s always the Safari Room.

“Our friendships are the kind that will endure for a lifetime,” Francola said.

OK, now the names:

* Fred Grimes: A vagabond among Valley coaches, Grimes has been an assistant at St. Genevieve, Granada Hills and Chaminade highs, Pierce and Moorpark colleges and was head coach at North Hollywood High for five years.

Francola convinced him to transfer as a teacher from North Hollywood in 1993. Now Francola’s offensive coordinator is his accomplice in Grimes.

“We have fun every day,” Grimes said. “Bob and I are trying to grow old gracefully and these young [assistant] coaches have added years to our lives.”

Grimes trivia: The Poly High graduate is five days younger than Francola.

* Dion Lambert: An All-City defensive back at Kennedy in Francola’s first season as coach, Lambert starred at UCLA and played for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks before returning in 1997 to teach history and coach at his alma mater.

Lambert is defensive coordinator on the advice of Francola’s wife, Andi, who told her husband, “He’s too good a coach not to have a lot of responsibility.”

It’s no secret Francola is grooming Lambert to become the next head coach.

Lambert trivia: The former cornerback was a fourth-round draft pick of the Patriots in 1992.

* Craig Raub: In a nine-year run as girls’ basketball coach that ended in 1987, Raub led Kennedy to 90 consecutive league victories and three City titles.

When Raub tired of basketball, Francola convinced him that “coaching is coaching.”

“In basketball, the head coach is the lone dog,” said Raub, who coaches linebackers. “To join a large staff, it had better mesh. Our group does.”

Raub trivia: Eleven girls’ basketball players received Division I scholarships during his tenure.

* Billy Parra: A former receiver at Kennedy, Valley College and Cal Lutheran, Parra is the primary architect of the team’s new run-and-shoot offense.

He works nights as a counselor in a home for troubled teenagers, is completing work on a teaching credential and is on the Kennedy campus by noon, holding lunch meetings with Grimes, quarterback Ruben Zaragoza and the receivers.

“I was raised by a single mom and Coach Francola has been a father figure to me since I started high school,” Parra said.

Parra trivia: He coached at Moorpark College in 1997 and last spring was offered jobs at two junior colleges in the region.

* Akili Calhoun: At practice, his is the loudest voice and the biggest body--at 6 feet 4 and 280 pounds, Calhoun still looks like he could suit up for the Oakland Raiders.

Like Parra, Calhoun works with troubled youths. At Kennedy, he teaches defensive lineman how to cause trouble for quarterbacks.

The players respect him for his pedigree--a career at Hawaii and several years bouncing around several professional leagues--and for his knowledge.

Calhoun trivia: He was a Kennedy teammate of Lambert on Francola’s first team in 1986--a conference champion.

* Paul Sabolic: Another close friend of Francola, Sabolic joined the staff this year as offensive line coach.

He was a Poly classmate of Grimes and a teammate of Francola at Valley in the 1960s. Sabolic went on to play guard at Washington.

Sabolic trivia: His son, Jason, played center on El Camino Real’s City Division championship team in 1997.

* Francola also draws on the influence of John Haynes, 63, who along with Dick Whitney were Kennedy’s first coaches 28 years ago.

Haynes, who hired Francola to replace him, still teaches and sits in on coaches’ meetings.

Francola must see his life pass before his eyes when he walks in the room.

“I’m surrounded by so many people I love and respect,” he said. “I’m a rich man.”

FRED GRIMES

Offensive

Coordinator

* Long time Valley high school, college coach

BILLY PARRA

Receivers-

Quarterbacks

* Played for Cal Lutheran, coached at Moorpark College

PAUL SABOLIC

Offensive Line

* Played for Washington, teammate of Bob Francola

DION LAMBERT

Defensive Coordinator

* Played at UCLA and with Patriots, Seahawks

AKILI CALHOUN

Defensive Line

* Played at Hawaii and with Raiders

CRAIG RAUB

Linebackers

* Former Kennedy girls’ basketball coach