Bowl game gives Merced College’s Casey one last game before stepping down as head coach
As he walked off the practice field on Tuesday afternoon, Merced College football coach Bob Casey couldn’t help but think this was his last time walking off that field as the Blue Devils head coach.
Casey, 46, is stepping down as the Merced College head coach after this season, which means Thursday’s Valley Center Bowl Game against College of the Sequoias (5-5) at Stadium ‘75 will be his last game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make,” said Casey, whose team went 6-4 during the regular season. “I keep asking myself will I have buyer’s remorse? Am I ready? I try to justify the decision, but I also wonder what it’s going to be like not planning practices or not going to recruiting meetings.”
Casey has led the Blue Devils to a 53-58 record since taking over as the head coach in 2010. He’s coached at Merced College for 18 years.
“It wasn’t something I planned, it just kind of presented itself,” Casey said.
Casey is stepping down to become the Associate Dean of Kinesiology and Athletic Director at Merced College. He’ll take over from longtime athletic director Steve Cassady, who is moving into a new role that hasn’t been defined yet.
“This gives me an opportunity to look at the big picture, to continue building the structure and foundation of our entire athletic department,” Casey said.
Longtime Blue Devils assistant Justin Pinasco, 48, will become the new Merced College head football coach.
Pinasco was serving as associate head coach under Casey. Pinasco has served as an assistant coach at Merced College for 27 seasons.
“I’m excited. I’m fired up,” Pinasco said. “I’ve been here forever. Once Bob took over, we were able to get things turned around to where we are now. This is a chance to continue on what we’ve been doing. I’m excited for him going in that direction. I think it will be good for me and good for the athletic department.”
Pinasco was a teammate of Casey’s at Merced College and coached with him the past 18 years.
“He will be a great transition,” Casey said. “He played here back in 1993. He’s been coaching for almost 30 years. He knows everything he needs to know. He’s been great working for me as an associate head coach and running the defensive side of the ball. He has connections to the community. He’s going to be good.”
The Merced College Board of Trustees approved the move for Casey in October. He held out telling his players until after their final regular season game against Hartnell because he didn’t want the news to be a distraction.
“It’s never been about me,” Casey said.
He says the extra game the Valley Center Bowl Game gives his players is a blessing. Especially for a sophomore group that lost a season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This has been a great group,” he said. “These sophomore guys have been through a lot. They stuck with us through COVID and have been through so many close games this year. This is an opportunity to play one more game and that’s awesome for them. They guys deserve the hell out of it.”
The extra game also gives Casey a couple weeks to enjoy as a coach.
Pinasco credits Casey with helping turn around the Blue Devils program. This will be their third bowl game in the past five seasons. He says Casey was also instrumental in bringing more local players into the program.
“Bob’s impact has been huge,” Pinsaco said. “He’s such a player’s coach and I think that will be big for him in the AD thing. He’s all about the student athlete, he cares. We really brought in a lot of local kids and he definitely played a huge part in that. The amount of guys we’ve had go on and play at any level was because of him.”
When asked what he’ll miss most about coaching, Casey didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely it’s going to be the relationships with the kids,” he said. “The kids I have now are an awesome group. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to end with. They understand how to have fun, but also when it’s time to work”
Casey says of course they want to win Thursday’s bowl game, but the goal was also to enjoy the final couple weeks together.
“There’s only a few teams playing in the state this time of year,” Casey said. “Fortunately we had a few high school teams in the area playing last week. We’re unbelievably fortunate to be in this position to be in a bowl game. We have to enjoy it. You have to put things in perspective and try to have some fun.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 9:22 PM.
