He Doesn’t Do It By The Numbers Controversial Aide At San Jose State Has Coached At WSU And Many Others, Too

One man. Ten jobs. Twenty-one years.

Mike Church, it’s fair to say, has been around.

“Oh yeah. I’m probably not done being around, either,” the San Jose State defensive coordinator said this week. “History has a way of repeating itself.

“I’m used to it. I had three head coaches at Washington State in three years, you know?

“Either I move or they do. That’s just football.”

And that’s just Church.

At 46, he’s burned more bridges than most people cross. Some are still smoldering.

The personal costs seem exorbitant, but Church - sardonic to the core - makes no apologies.

“I’m divorced. I don’t have any money,” Church said, without inviting sympathy. “I’m not your normal guy. I’m pretty iconoclastic.

“I’ve got my own way of doing things and I believe strongly in them. So I’m not necessarily the easiest guy to deal with.”

If only Church could get his defense to be so unyielding.

The Spartans (1-3) beat UTEP 26-25 last weekend, but gave up 90 points in losses to Air Force and Cal. They’re four-touchdown underdogs in Saturday’s game at WSU.

As for Church?

“I’ve worked at nine schools or 10 schools - now I lose track, I’ve been to so many,” he said.

He’s in his second season under John Ralston, the legendary coach and gentleman, and seems to be getting along fine.

If nothing else, Church is a survivor.

Three seasons as a graduate assistant at Nebraska produced an enduring friendship with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and helped Church, then 26, get his first coaching job.

The year was 1976, and new WSU coach Jackie Sherrill needed someone to coach linebackers. Church was available.

“I got there because of an IOU,” Church explained. “Sherrill had an IOU out to Kiffin.”

The marriage was short, the scars permanent. Church and Sherrill despise each other to this day, and Church has accused his former boss of attempting to blacklist him from the coaching profession.

Sherrill, now at Mississippi State, left Pullman after just one season. Church stayed, working under Warren Powers in 1977 and Jim Walden the next season.

“Walden was a heckuva football coach and a good guy,” Church said. “He tried to do it the right way.”

Church left WSU after Walden’s inaugural season, taking a more lucrative job at California.

The rest is his story.

“Yeah, I’m well-traveled,” he said. “I’ve worked with some of the finest guys in the country, though.”

A for-instance, or nine?

“I worked with the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins,” Church began.

“I worked with the head coach of the Carolina Panthers,” he added, momentum building.

“I worked with the defensive coordinator of the Chiefs.

“I worked with the offensive coordinator of the Saints.

“I worked with the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.

“I worked with the offensive coordinator for the Bears.

“I worked with the assistant head coach for the Bears.

“I worked with the assistant head coach of the Chiefs.

“I worked with the defensive coordinator for Tampa Bay.”

OK, OK.

“The list is real long,” Church conceded. “They all know me. They know I’m a certain kind of guy.

“You get what you see.”

And then he’s gone. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE CHURCH FILE Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of ‘72 Age: 46 Coaching experience: 21 years Year School Coaching duty 1973-75 Nebraska graduate assistant 1976-78 Washington State linebackers 1979-80 California linebackers 1981-82 Northwestern defensive coordinator 1983 Cal Poly-SLO linebackers 1984-85 Brown defensive coordinator 1986-88 UTEP defensive coordinator 1989-90 Missouri defensive coordinator 1991-93 Cal Poly-SLO linebackers 1994 Munich Thunder defensive coordinator 1995-present San Jose State defensive coordinator