Montgomery High School hires former Cardinal Newman quarterback Tony Keefer as football coach

Montgomery High School has hired Tony Keefer as its new head football coach. If you think his name sounds familiar, you’re right.

Keefer was born and raised in Santa Rosa and was a star quarterback at Cardinal Newman and two-time All-American at Santa Rosa Junior College before winning a scholarship to play college ball at Northern Arizona University.

After complications from a previous surgery halted his playing career, he became a coach for the NAU Lumberjacks in 2003, then an offensive coordinator at College of Marin.

He took over a struggling Tamalpais High School program in 2007 and in 2009, became the head coach at Santa Rosa High School, then spent a year at Maria Carrillo before taking time off with a young family.

But he’s back in the coaching game, beating out 10 other applicants to take the helm for the Vikings.

“I was waiting for this,” said Keefer, who grew up in Bennett Valley. “This would be the only job I was waiting on because of the people involved in the Montgomery community and around the program, the administration. There’s nothing better than this job.”

Athletic Director Dean Haskins announced the hiring Thursday, saying Keefer, 35, checked every box the selection committee was looking for.

“He’s got a really good academic game plan to put in place for our players,” Haskins said. “He is really good at coaching kids, both on and off the field. He has experience turning a program into a successful one.”

Montgomery could use the turnaround. The Vikings haven’t had a winning season since 2013, when Haskins stepped in after longtime coach Jason Franci retired.

Since that 10-3 season, the Vikings have finished 5-7, 2-8 and 3-7. Last season, Montgomery won its first three games against nonleague opponents, but then went winless in the North Bay League en route to that 3-7 mark.

Keefer replaces Marcelo Bautista, who was fired at the end of last season after three years.

Resurrecting a losing program won’t be new for Keefer.

Entering his first year in 2008, Tamalpais had a 12-game losing streak and had won just three games in its last 40. Morale was low and discipline was lacking.

“We only had 23 guys in the whole program. We only had a varsity team, with one senior,” he said. “We were a JV team playing a varsity schedule. We went 0-10, obviously.”

But Keefer didn’t back off his philosophy, which has three “phases” - classroom, community and football, in that order.

“Probably my biggest accomplishment is that I didn’t lose one kid to grades in my seasons there,” he said.

That was achieved by getting teachers involved and insisting his players be responsible in the classroom.

“It’s a big part of young men learning what it’s like to be accountable,” he said.

Keefer will bring that same philosophy to Montgomery, with his players being involved in fundraising and community events like food drives.

Then comes football, he said. After some initial pushback in Tamalpais, players bought into the program.

“They did the right thing and it paid off in the second year,” he said. “We won five games and went to the playoffs for the first time in a long time.”

Keefer recognizes that winning wasn’t the most important achievement that year.

“For the kids - to see their struggles, their resistance at first - but for them to know we had their best interest at heart, it was so gratifying in the end,” he said.

Of course, he has the football chops as well. His father, Mike, played at San Francisco State and coached at Cardinal Newman from the mid-1970s to early ’80s.

After graduating from Newman in 1999, Keefer sat out for a year after back surgery. In his two years at Santa Rosa Junior College, Keefer was voted All-American both seasons and set multiple records along the way.

In 2002, he set school records in single-season pass attempts (466), career completions (432), career pass attempts (806) and total offense (5,310 yards).

He was inducted in the Bear Cubs Hall of Fame last year, his former coaches praising his mental toughness, leadership and maturity.

He won a scholarship to quarterback at NAU in Flagstaff, Ariz., but his playing career ended abruptly when it was discovered a loose screw in his back from the 2000 surgery made it too dangerous to play.

Keefer began coaching while a student and stayed for two years after graduating.

He is in the midst of his master’s teaching program, but he said he likely won’t pursue it to completion. He works full-time in sales for his family’s company, Wild California, a brand of snack crisps. He has two daughters and lives in Santa Rosa.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.