Half Moon Bay shakes up its coaching staff; Ronnie Ekis takes over as varsity head coach

“He’ll be good,” Holden said. “He’s got a decent crop coming back.”

Holden said the decision to shift roles was made after the completion of HMB’s 2023 season. Playing in the Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division last season, the Cougars went 1-4 in league and 3-7 overall. It’s the first time since 2018 HMB finished below .500 both in league and overall.

HMB will drop to the PAL Ocean Division this season. The last time the Cougars played in a “B” league, they ran the table in 2018 with 10-0 overall regular-season record, and advanced to the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, where they fell to Serra in the tournament opener.

Holden said HMB’s varsity team will still run the same schemes under Ekis. Mark Baker — son of former HMB wrestling coach Tom Baker — will take over as varsity defensive coordinator. Ekis, who has served as HMB’s offensive coordinator since since 2018, will continue to run the offense. Taylor Taft has been promoted to co-offensive coordinator. Taft was previously the team’s quarterbacks coach.

“Not a lot’s changing,” Holden said. “Ronnie has been around forever and he’d kind of dialed in on the system that we like to run.”

Ekis joined the HMB football program in 2011 as an assistant coach with the junior-varsity squad. He served as JV head coach from 2012-17 and was promoted to varsity OC in 2018.

This season will mark his first as a varsity football head coach.

“I’m excited,” Ekis said. “It’s a change of pace but it’s not going to change a ton. Keith’s my mentor ... he’s a legendary coach, taking us to state. I look up to a lot of what he’s done. ... The tradition we hold here, that’s not going to change much. But I’m looking forward to taking over and giving it my best shot, and Keith’s been super supportive of that.”

Ekis has worked as the HMB varsity wrestling co-head coach since 2018, taking over the program from Tom Baker, along with co-head coach Sam Temko. Ekis will stay on as wrestling coach, a role he said he couldn’t maintain if not for Temko.

“It’s nice that I have the ability to do that because I have Sam with me, because I can count on him preparing our guys during the football season, and then I can step right in,” Ekis said.

Holden said he would be open to returning to the varsity head coaching role when his son eventually moves up to varsity in future seasons.

“Yeah, that’s probably going to be what’s going to happen,” Holden said. “We’ll play it by ear.”

Ekis said both he and Holden are focused on this season, and haven’t discussed staffing for future seasons.

“I don’t have a big he ego and he doesn’t really have a big ego,” Holden said. “We’re kind of ‘kids first.’ So, it’s to be determined.”

The major benefit of Holden’s switch to JV is it will help rebuild the program’s vital feeder system, something that has suffered in recent years since the pandemic. Ekis said last year’s JV squad consisted of a mere four or five players who had previous football experience.

“We need a little bit of stability there,” Ekis said. “Not to take anything away from the coaches we’ve had there ... but we felt like Keith or I jumping in down there could help us get back on track up at varsity and what we do as a program traditionally.”

Ekis’ coaching career is a product of that feeder system, one that holds its roots in Coastside Cougars Youth Football & Cheer. Prior to coaching at HMB, Ekis coached with for the old Pop Warner Cougars youth team.

“It’s a small town,” Holden said. “We all know one another. This year, I’m coaching my kid but I know all the families because it’s families of people he’s played baseball with and basketball and stuff like that.”