Serra football moves on from departure of offensive coordinator Darius Bell

“It’s just been the last few years that I’ve kind of decided the head coaching job was something I was interested in,” Bell said. “I’ve always been more into Xs and Os ... but part of the reason I went to Serra was to learn from [Serra head coach Patrick Walsh], and to see him run a program the way he runs it kind of inspired me to take that next step in my career.”

In addition to his older brother Kahlil joining the Fightin’ Irish staff as offensive coordinator, Bell added three former Serra coaches to his staff in Gustavo Manzinarus, defensive coordinator; Ron Ortiz, special teams; and Sam Chung, safeties.

“We had some exciting, dynamic offenses,” Walsh said. “And he was great with the quarterbacks. He’s just a great human being. It was great having him around. So, he’ll be missed big time.”

To replace Bell, Serra hired recent Menlo School assistant coach Mike Hill as offensive coordinator. Hill served as Menlo’s offensive coordinator from 2022-24. Menlo replaced Hill by bringing back former OC Austyn Carta-Samuels into the fold.

“I’m happy for Darius, and he’s got a great opportunity,” Walsh said. “But it’s a great opportunity for Mike Hill to run the offense for us.”

Bell enjoyed quite a run with the Padres. Bell’s first OC post was at Riordan under former Crusaders head coach Kevin Thornton, prior to moving to Serra in 2018. Walsh originally tabbed Bell as the quarterbacks coach, but was promoted to OC midway through the season. He has some big shoes to fill, taking over with the departure of the most prolific OC in Padres history, Steven Lo, who left to take the OC job at St. John Bosco-Bellflower.

In just his second game as Serra’s OC, Bell etched his place in the record books as the Padres defeated his former team, Riordan, 57-6. In that game, Serra scored 43 first-quarter points, which still stands as the most ever in a single quarter in program history.

Lo still holds the program records for most yards and most points in a single season. The Serra offense set the mark in 2016 in the Padres’ first CIF state finalist season, then broke its own record in 2017 in celebrating the program’s lone state championship to date at the Division 2-AA level. Bell, though, served as OC for the fourth best offense in program history in 2019 with 5,112 total yards, with the 2021 team ranking fifth all-time and the 2022 team ranking sixth.

During Bell’s tenure, the Padres reached the CIF Open Division State Championship Bowl for three straight seasons in 2021, ’22 and ’23.

Bell said he’s ready for a more vocal role as he moves to the sideline as a head coach, where communication is key.

“Just the everyday messaging,” Bell said. “When you’re an OC, DC, you can speak two three times a week. ... You don’t have to have a message every day. ... So, I think the biggest shift for me is every day you have to have a plan. You’re guiding the message and spirit of the program every day, and that’s a lot harder than handling Xs and Os.”

Bell, 36, cited his recently becoming a father as a reason he wanted to move into full-time coaching. His son, Ziyanna, will turn 1 in July.

While Bell and his family are planning to move to San Francisco in the future, he still lives in San Mateo within walking distance of Serra.

“I love Serra,” Bell said. “Serra has been my life for 10 years. I’ve built a community here at Serra. ... I love the coaching staff. But a big part of why this venture came up is I also want to be a dad.”

The head coaching job at SHC opened up when former coach Antoine Evans left after the 2025 season to take over the program at Carlmont, who takes over for Eric Rado after Rado’s five years at the helm.

Hill, in three years at Menlo, generated a balanced run-pass option offense that, from 2023-25, amassed 12,278 offensive yards, including 4,755 yards in 2023. The Knights advanced to the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals in each of his three seasons under head coach Todd Smith.