Former assistant Merida named Paloma head football coach

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Juan Merida, veteran football and track and field coach at Paloma Valley High School, has been named the new head football coach of the Wildcats.

School principal Jennifer Thomasian made the announcement on Monday, shortly after Merida met with the players to give them the news. Merida succeeds Zach Dilley, who recently announced his resignation after three years on the job.

Merida has coached football for 27 years in California and Arizona. From 2009-17, he served as offensive coordinator under head coach Bert Esposito. During the 2016 season, the Wildcats offense averaged 52 points per game.

While still a teacher at Paloma Valley, he coached as an assistant at Temecula Valley under Esposito after the latter took that job in 2018. Merida helped lead that school to the CIF finals in 2019 and 2021, with one CIF championship.

"I met with the players today and spent quite a bit of time with them," Merida said. "I get the sense they are excited to have a new look, maybe a new philosophy. They all expressed that they want to take the program to the next level."

Paloma Valley football alumni coached by Merida include current Oregon State quarterback and Matt Orzech, who last year won a Super Bowl championship with the Rams.

“Coach Merida has helped over 100 kids achieve their dream of playing at the college level,” Thomasian said. “We are excited to bring his high-octane offense back to Paloma Valley High School and are looking forward to the impact he’s going to make to our overall campus culture.”

This past season, Paloma Valley won the Sunbelt League title and posted a 9-3 record under Dilley, who said he was resigning to spend more time with his family. Ironically, the last three head coaches at Paloma Valley are still teaching at the school. After being let go by Paloma in 2017, Esposito remained as a PE teacher at the school, even after he took over as head football coach at Temecula Valley. Esposito’s successor at Paloma, Tom Tello, resigned to spend more time with his family and continues to teach at the school, as does Dilley.

"It is an unusual situation," Merida said. "But I get along with all of them. Coach Espo, I've been with him forever; he's someone I can get advice from. Tello is another one I can talk to. And Dilley, he's a former player of mine."

Although he has a wealth of experienced former coaches to count on for advice, Merida will choose his own staff of assistants. Everyone involved with the program is looking for a fresh start for the Wildcats, who have a successful 2022 season to build on.

"We're losing about 35 seniors, and I'm told it will be a little bit of a rebuild," Merida said. "But we have plenty of talented kids out for football. I'm excited for what is to come."