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 last week.
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.
“I’m going to be there for my kids,” Barbee said simply in a recent interview when asked about the decision. “I have a kid going into 9th grade and a kid that will play Pop Warner. However my teaching schedule at Poly will allow me I’ll be coaching at our local high school. I want to be involved in their high school experience for the next six years. Having coached everyone else’s children for the last 31 years I don’t want to miss out on anything with regard to my own children. If that’s as a freshman coach or a position coach I could care less. I want to be involved with my kids. Sometimes we can get caught up in wins and losses and none of that stuff matters to me at all.”
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.”
Fittingly after Barbee made his announcement, former player Bryun Parham happened to be at the banquet and he took the stage to thank Barbee for the difference he’d made in his life. Parham has been an NCAA linebacker with San Jose State and Washington.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without that man,” said Parham of Barbee, who was emotional listening to him.
“God put Parham in my life,” said Barbee. “I don’t know how he ended up at that banquet. He will tell you–I kicked him off that team more times than I can say. But we welcomed him back and brought him back in. The fact that he said he has nothing but love for me or he wouldn’t be where he is without me–he bought into me and I bought into him.”
That love-first approach was a hallmark of Barbee’s tenure and drew praise on social media even from those who were frustrated with the team’s playoff performance the last few seasons.
“The most important word to me as a coach is always ‘love,’” said Barbee. “I may be a lot of things but I don’t lie to the kids–I love them. I’ll care about them forever. There’s no on and off switch, I’m going to take them at their best or at their worst. The one thing you can’t fake is love, and it never leaves. In a world of fakeness and instant gratification, you can’t fake it.”
Barbee said he was touched by the outpouring of support at the banquet–where the whole room lined up to hug him–as well as on social media and via personal messages.
“I feel blessed to be a part of the Long Beach Poly community,” he said. “I’m still teaching here, I’m tenured–I will be around. It’ll allow me to still be around these kids and be a part of their life. Every one of these kids has been a positive part of my life and my family’s life.”
Barbee said he was proud of his tenure at Poly–not just the CIF-SS championship but multiple wins over Mission Viejo and Serra and a 19-1 regular season record in 2022 and 2023. More than that, he was proud of earning CIF-SS Academic Honors as a program with a team GPA over 3.0 the last three years.
“When I took over we had…let’s just say it was a lot of kids ineligible under a 2.0 GPA,” he said. “To be a 3.0 team GPA honoree by the CIF three years in a row–truly a CIF ring is nothing compared to 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, with several people already applying within days of the job being posted.
