Crean Lutheran officials issue statement but decline to give reasons for dismissing Matt Bowman as varsity football coach

Crean Lutheran officials issued a statement Thursday afternoon indicating that Matt Bowman would not return for his third year as Saints varsity head football coach but declined to give reasons for the change.

Bowman, who had a 6-5 record this past season, led Crean Lutheran into the CIF Division 11 playoffs. The Saints lost to eventual Division 11 champion Katella 35-21 in the opening round.

Crean Lutheran was 7-3 in Bowman’s first year in 2016 but did not advance to the CIF playoffs because there were no at-large berths available in its playoff division.

Bowman, who replaced Brett Mertens as head coach, said in a text on Friday that he had no comment for the Irvine World News regarding the decision to remove him as football coach.

Eric Olson, Crean Lutheran’s athletic director, was asked Thursday why Bowman was being removed as head coach, but in an email he declined to say, referring to the release sent out by Crean Lutheran.

Olson said he is not allowed by employment law to talk specifically about the reason for the change, but said:

“Coach Bowman is in good standing at CLHS and we love and respect him and after careful thought and prayer we are going in a new leadership direction for Saints Football.”

The statement from Crean Lutheran on Thursday said in part:

“Through careful evaluation and prayer, Crean Lutheran High School administration has decided to move in a new direction with Coach Matt Bowman and seek new head coaching leadership for the Saints football program. We respect and value Coach Bowman’s knowledge of the game, love for our boys, and commitment to the Crean Lutheran Ministry.

“Coach Bowman has prayerfully accepted this decision and desires to continue to serve at Crean Lutheran as a teacher and as a possible coach in the program.  Please join in giving thanks to God for the faithful service that Coach Matt Bowman has given to Crean Lutheran High School over the past two years.

“Crean Lutheran Administration is in prayer about the future planning and decisions and we continue to trust in the Lord. We will identify and announce a new head coach in the coming weeks.”

Bowman and the Saints, despite the loss of several key offensive starters this season, were able to have a successful season.

One of the highlights for Crean Lutheran came in the fourth week when the Saints defeated Beckman 28-21. It was Crean Lutheran’s first game against an Irvine public school team and after the game, Bowman said, it was a, “great night to be a Saint.”

Crean Lutheran football coach Matt Bowman was thrilled after his team’s 28-21 victory over Beckman Thursday night. Here are some comments. pic.twitter.com/GvGcMsBuO3

— Tim Burt (@TimBurtIrvine) September 15, 2017

Before the season, Bowman talked about goals for the season but said other factors were important too.

“Regardless of the effort, we want to continue to give a Colossions 3:23 effort every single day because that is something that is going to take our kids a lot farther in life than how many football games they won,” Bowman said.

Crean Lutheran faces an uphill battle next year when it moves from the Academy League to the Empire League with the likes of Tustin, Pacifica and Cypress, all established football powers as part of the CIF realignment.

It is believed that Bowman was excited about the challenge, but it’s not known what went into the school administration’s decision to remove him.

Former University assistant Chris Conlin, who worked at Crean Lutheran this past year with Bowman as linebackers coach, praised Bowman.

“He’s a young, knowledgeable, good person,” Conlin said. “I’m only a first year coach (at Crean). We went 6-5 with a lot of our offensive weapons not available and lost to the CIF champions (Katella) in the first round and we were down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Being a football coach and an athletic director for 42 years, I would say that the team was able to succeed although there were some major obstacles and struggles with losing our players. The (starting) quarterback only played two games. He is an energetic, committed and knowledgeable young coach who is learning the ropes and he is is going to land on his feet and he’s going to be fine.”

It’s not known whether Bowman will remain at Crean Lutheran or pursue other opportunities.