Fountain Valley High taps David Gutierrez to lead football program

Chris Anderson resigned as Fountain Valley High School football coach on July 16, less than five weeks before the Barons were scheduled to open their season by hosting Valencia of Placentia on Aug. 19. But school officials did not have to look far to find a replacement.

Fountain Valley has selected as its new head coach David Gutierrez, who is entering his fifth year as a physical education teacher at the campus, Athletic Director Roger Holmes said in an email. The hire is pending district approval, Holmes added.

“Dave is a great fit at F.V. with his ties to the school and community,” Holmes said in the email.

Gutierrez was most recently a linebackers and special teams coach at Servite High. He coached at Fountain Valley from 2010 through 2013 before becoming the defensive coordinator at Santa Ana High for four years, helping turn that program around.

He was hired as Costa Mesa’s head coach in 2018, but was let go following an 0-10 first season.

Anderson, who was set to enter his third season as Barons coach, instead finds himself back in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. He is the new athletic director at Estancia High, he confirmed Thursday, taking over for Nate Goelrich.

Anderson, who spent eight years as assistant football coach at Newport Harbor, is now in charge of athletics for Estancia.

He said he resigned as Fountain Valley’s football coach after there were some issues with his teaching contract.

“That was really at the same time that the Estancia job opened,” Anderson said. “I was in Newport-Mesa teaching and coaching for nine years, and felt comfortable going back and applying for that job. I had really wanted to get into athletic administration, and it was one of those opportunities that I couldn’t pass up.”

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