Former Diablo Valley College wide receiver hired as new offensive coordinator

Offensive+coordinator+Rob+Adan+in+his+office+at+Diablo+Valley+College+in+Pleasant+Hill%2C+California.

Aaron Tolentino

Offensive coordinator Rob Adan in his office at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California.

Aaron Tolentino, Sports Editor

Diablo Valley College football is welcoming home one of its former players, Robert Adan. After spending two years at Southwestern Oklahoma State University as a wide receivers coach, Adan has returned to become DVC’s offensive coordinator.

The position opened up when former offensive coordinator, Anthony Garcia, stepped down to tend to his newborn child.

Adan had already planned on moving back to California before any position opened up, making the timing perfect for both sides.

I was real excited because I just moved back from Oklahoma and just finished my masters degree out there. (My fiancé and I) said we got to get back to California,” according to Adan. “We know people out there, we’ll get something.”

After moving back to California, Adan reconnected with some mutual friends of his and DVC head coach Mike Darr, who mentioned the job opening.

Darr called Adan a couple weeks later and asked if he wanted the job.

Adan responded, “Dang right I do.”

A former wide receiver under Darr 10 years ago, Adan knows the ins and outs of DVC and the program Darr runs.

“It’s always great to have a member of the family back. He was a great player for us, but even back then, the staff used to talk about he’s gonna be an unbelievable coach and that’s what he’s done,” said Darr. “The timing just worked out perfectly.”

Adan’s coaching career began at Santa Barbara Community College where he spent four years as the recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach before landing at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Adan’s experience as a player and coach working in different systems at various schools across the country should lead to a very creative offense. Adan envisions mixing elements of the spread and West Coast offenses and including more run-pass option plays (RPOs), fly sweeps and pre-snap motioning.

Quarterback Jarrod Hoyer has already gotten a head start on working with Adan by brainstorming ways to make the Vikings’ offense better.

“We’re gonna go a little more in depth this year, already learned a lot from him these past five meetings,” said Hoyer. “He’s a smart guy and he knows a lot about football so he’s definitely gonna help me in all aspects.”

Hoyer looks forward to taking full advantage of his starting role as quarterback after being a backup last season.

Similar to the diverse system he wants to implement, Adan won’t be working solely with the offense. He also plans to help with recruiting and as a kinesiology professor at DVC, he’ll be heavily involved in the strength and conditioning of the team.

“Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve been the strength coach and my biggest thing is injury prevention and athletic performance,” said Adan. “So if we have any major injuries, that’s my fault.”

And while Adan plans to make a big impact on the entire team, he’s still mindful to keep the same, prideful Viking tradition he went through as a player years back.

“We already have that many (returning players), might as well keep a similar scheme and put my little flavor in there,” said Adan.