Red Bluff hires longtime defensive coordinator Derrick Watson as next head coach
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Red Bluff High School hired Derrick Watson as the Spartans’ next head football coach, the school announced on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Watson served as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator for the past seven years under former head coach Jacob Daricek, who resigned in October during the 2025 season after an altercation with a parent.
“I’m really excited,” Watson told the Record Searchlight. “My son played football here. I live in the community. I know a lot of the people here. I’m excited to continue the success we’ve had and give back to the community.”
During that time, Daricek and Watson helped build the Spartans into an elite Northern Section team with one of the best defenses in the section — highlighted by an 18-6 record over the past two seasons.
“Coach Watson is a familiar face within the Spartan family, serving as a Physical Education teacher at RBHS and as an assistant varsity football coach for the past seven years,” the school wrote in its statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday morning. “His deep understanding of the current roster and his presence on campus provide a seamless transition for the program.”
Prior to his tenure as Red Bluff’s defensive coordinator, Watson served as the defensive coordinator at Irvington High School in Fremont and later at Los Molinos High School. That extensive experience as a coordinator has given Watson a unique perspective on what it takes to be a head coach.
“I got to see the ins and outs of what they do behind the scenes and got to learn the CEO management side of being a football coach,” Watson said. “It’s not always about the X’s and O’s. There’s a lot of paperwork and logistics involved with being a head coach.”
After getting ejected in the 2024 Northern Section championship game at Pleasant Valley, Daricek was forced to miss the Spartans 2025 season opener against West Valley. Watson was the acting head coach in that game — his first time as an acting head coach — and the Spartans took home a 35-7 victory.
“I was shocked at how busy I was the whole game,” Watson said. “Normally I’m just able to focus on defense and lock in … but as head coach, you’re managing everything. You’re managing the coaches, you’re managing the sideline, you’re communicating with the referees, your clock management.”
It was an experience that Watson said taught him a lot about what the job requires.
“I’m looking forward to having more time to prepare for it and to set up more systems in place so that it’s an easy job to execute efficiently,” Watson said.
In his new role, Watson plans to continue the success Red Bluff football has had on and off the field.
“We’ve done a great job with our student athletes being successful in the classroom, as well as the wins produced on the field,” Watson said. “I think focusing on the whole player, not just the athlete, has been a big part of our success. I look forward to bringing the discipline, bringing the energy and bringing the passion.”
Watson has been an assistant with Daricek for years, and the pair even played together in high school. Watson encouraged Daricek to coach with him in Fremont after Daricek finished his college football career, and the two coaches have worked together ever since.
While Watson hasn’t made any concrete staffing decisions yet, he said there is a possibility that Daricek returns to Red Bluff as an assistant on Watson’s staff.
Dan Ackley, the Spartans interim head coach for the four games following Daricek’s resignation, is another candidate for an assistant role with the team. As of now, however, Watson has yet to officially make any staffing decisions.
“We’re in the middle of staffing the team right now, so there’s a lot of moving pieces,” Watson said. “The most important thing is who you coach with. I have a whole staff of people that I really like to be around, that this community likes to be around.”
The Red Bluff community has seen the passion Watson brings to the game every Friday night in the fall, and it was a factor in the school’s decision to elevate him as the leader of the program.
“Coach Watson brings an incredible amount of experience, energy, and passion to this role,” District Superintendent Todd Brose said in a statement posted on the school’s official Facebook account. “He is deeply committed to developing high character among both our student-athletes and our coaching staff. We are confident that he will continue the significant progress Spartan football has made over the last several years.”
Brett Abrams is a sports reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. He covers high school and local sports in the Redding area. Reach out to Brett with any sports tips or news on X (formerly Twitter) @brabrams_ or by email at Brett.Abrams@Redding.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Red Bluff hires Derrick Watson as new head football coach
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