Popular Cardinal Newman coach is leaving and parents, students will rally for answers

A popular Cardinal Newman High School football coach’s decision to join rival Windsor High School has sparked confusion and outrage among the Santa Rosa Catholic school’s parents, students and alumni who say they’ll rally next week in order to find out why he’s leaving after 18 successful years.

They plan to gather outside Cardinal Newman next Tuesday morning, about one week after Paul Cronin informed students and staff of his decision to leave.

Cronin’s reputation as an extremely successful coach is well known across Sonoma County. Cardinal teams under Cronin advanced to the CIF state championship game three times, losing in 2006 and 2008 before bringing home a title in December 2019. The team ended its most recent season 5-0.

Cronin’s Monday announcement “sent shock waves” throughout the Cardinal Newman community, said Petaluma resident Tara-Jen Kelly, 51, who has two sons already attending Cardinal Newman and a daughter who will start there next year.

The rally, she said, will not only focus on why Cronin has opted to leave but also what parents and staff can do to keep their school strong and prevent other teachers and staff from leaving, as well.

“It’s unfortunate it’s the end of the school year and we can’t celebrate the class of 2021, and instead we are doing this. But we are sending the message that Newman is about all of us,” Kelly said.

Cronin’s voicemail box was full and he did not respond to text messages seeking comment about why he chose to join Windsor, whose former head coach Brad Stibi left the position in March.

Jamie Williams, Windsor’s athletic director, declined to comment Wednesday on Cronin’s decision and said “how he got here and why he got here, it’s best to talk to him.”

Williams did, however, tout her school’s new acquisition.

“This is a pretty big deal. We are very excited to have Paul join our Jaguar family,” Williams said. “Everyone’s talking about this.”

Cronin had previously been set to join Windsor High School in early 2017, following 14 years at Cardinal Newman, only to reverse his decision days before his new job was supposed to begin. At the time, he told The Press Democrat he changed his mind after learning his three children were unhappy with his decision to join Windsor.

Parents say that, in addition to his coaching successes, he looked out for students and did his best to guide them while assisting other staff.

“There’s never a time you can’t reach him by phone, by email or text. And that takes a lot of time from what you do daily,” said Windsor resident Bonnie Headley, 41, whose 17-year-old son attends Cardinal Newman. “It blows me away how much time he puts in for not a lot of compensation.”

Cardinal Newman President Linda Norman said Cronin had been a strong role model during a tumultuous period that began with the 2017 Tubbs fire, which destroyed more than 4,600 homes, and continues to this day with the coronavirus pandemic.

“It's been the worst of years, but he has helped us endure and shine through it all. He is a leader on our campus, always reminding us that students come first, people come first,” Norman said.

She said she, like many of the school’s parents, learned about Cronin’s decision on Monday and, as of Wednesday, he had yet to submit a letter of resignation that might explain why he has chosen to leave.

Norman acknowledged “we have frustrated and angry parents” who are searching for answers and wondering if anything could have been done to keep Cronin at Cardinal Newman.

Parents said Cronin is the latest in a string of faculty and staff members to leave the school during the past year. Norman confirmed 10 teachers and staff members have left for various reasons this year.

Three people retired and three moved out of the area, she said. Of the other four, one transferred to another school, another entered a new career, the third resigned and the last one’s position was eliminated.

Some openings, she said, have already been filled, while others are in the process of being filled.

Nevertheless, Headley, whose son attends Cardinal Newman, speculated that Cronin might have been unhappy. She blames school leadership for his decision to join Windsor High School.

“If you have a teacher that’s been there 18 years and is as loved as he is and he’s unhappy, you want to do whatever you can to keep him,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi