Long Beach Poly football coach Stephen Barbee announced to his football program that he is stepping down as head coach of the Jackrabbits after seven seasons, a surprise move made at Poly’s year-end banquet on Monday evening.
The LA Chargers and LA Rams’ Coach of the Year in 2022, Barbee was the CIF-SS Coach of the Year in 2021 after leading the Jackrabbits to the CIF-SS Division 4 championship. He went 57-20 in his seven seasons with the Jackrabbits, the second-best win percentage (74%) in the program’s century-plus history.
After taking over for Antonio Pierce (now the head coach with the Raiders), Barbee won over many on the Poly campus with his selfless leadership. He never took credit after wins, and also took blame onto himself after a loss.
“He puts all the credit onto us,” said former Jackrabbit Daylen Austin in a 2022 interview. “I definitely appreciate that–he never takes any credit. And if we lose a game, you hear him take all the blame. He gives us all the credit and takes all the blame. We all notice that.”
The Jackrabbits have enjoyed tremendous stability at the head coach position. Since 1980 they’ve had just five coaches, all but one of whom has won a CIF-SS title. The position will be highly sought after, and is expected to be posted soon.
The562 will have more details later as well as full coverage of the search for the next Poly coach.
