{"id":5470,"date":"2025-10-15T06:02:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/5470\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T06:02:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:02:07","slug":"scripps-ranchs-gardinera-to-retire-taylor-to-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/5470\/","title":{"rendered":"Scripps Ranch’s Gardinera to retire, Taylor to lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5\/KUSI) \u2014 Scripps Ranch head football coach Marlon Gardinera and offensive coordinator John Taylor are one of the most successful coaching duos San Diego football has ever seen. With Gardinera retiring at the end of the 2025 season, they can reflect on everything they\u2019ve accomplished together.<\/p>\n

Giving Scripps Ranch its first winning seasons since 2013, multiple first-place conference finishes, a 2019 sectional runner-up, and, most importantly, a 2021 CIF Division 2-A state championship.<\/p>\n

Despite all of these achievements on the field, it\u2019s the principles they\u2019ve instilled in their players that they are most proud of \u2014 principles that Taylor will continue to preach when he takes over the head coaching role next year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Scripps Ranch Head Coach Marlon Gardinera sets his sights on his final season as head coach before handing the reins to Taylor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHard work, commitment, discipline, accountability, learning how to deal with adversity, learning how to compete, and winning,\u201d said Gardinera. \u201cIf you do those things, you will be successful. That has been the foundation of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardinera never starred as a football player growing up; instead, he played Division I baseball.<\/p>\n

Football experience isn\u2019t what he depends on, though. Gardinera uses his passion for leading and motivating young athletes to teach his teams what it takes to be successful in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I interviewed to be head coach, all I talked about was grades and character, and what football could do for young men,\u201d said Gardinera.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s been the driving force behind the team\u2019s culture and structure, the 2021 Cal-Hi Sports Coach of the Year gives most of the logistical credit to his successor, Taylor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been the architect behind the football,\u201d said Gardinera.<\/p>\n

He recalled his interview with Taylor in 2018. Scripps Ranch had just finished a grueling 2\u20138 season, and hope for a turnaround was fading fast. Taylor, who was looking to come over from Mira Mesa, arrived at the meeting with a full binder on the Scripps Ranch offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned more about our offense in that meeting,\u201d explained Gardinera, \u201cthan I knew about our offense that entire year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Taylor\u2019s first season, Scripps improved to six wins, then exploded to 12 wins in his second.<\/p>\n

The charismatic, powerful voice of Gardinera and the strategic, football-savvy mind of Taylor have proven to be a match made in heaven. The glue that keeps the whole operation together, however, is their shared commitment to building up the students they coach.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\tSpecial Teams Swagger: Madison High School\u2019s Harrison Brown\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The duo believes that encouraging players to work hard in the classroom, treat others with respect, and push through adversity will naturally translate to on-field success.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Taylor talks to the ref on the sideline during the game.<\/p>\n

They aren\u2019t worried about where, or if, their athletes play in college. They\u2019re focused on which of those traits their players carry with them after high school.<\/p>\n

The Scripps Ranch coaches don\u2019t just preach \u2014 they lead by example.<\/p>\n

Gardinera was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in 2007, a disease in which proteins in the body mutate and disrupt organ function.<\/p>\n

Despite being told he had 12 to 24 months to live, he persevered. Now, 18 years later, he has had a liver transplant, donated his own liver, coached both of his children and is looking forward to spending more time with his wife after retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids are in college; they are set for life,\u201d said Gardinera. \u201cMy wife should get the same time, focus, and commitment that my sons did.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Taylor, he has battled his own share of adversity. He was an excellent wrestler growing up and even made it to the college level, but his career was cut short by a car accident.<\/p>\n

Instead of wallowing, Taylor pushed forward, serving in the Marines for seven years after college. Following his time in the military, he became a teacher in San Diego \u2014 his first chance to directly impact others and his pathway into high school coaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got into coaching to change lives,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Scripps Ranch\u2019s offensive coordinator, John Taylor, is on the sideline. <\/p>\n

His next hurdle\u2014the transition from being the brains behind the operation to the face of the team\u2014will be an adjustment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy attention never strayed from success on the field. I did not worry about uniforms or class schedules; I worried about getting ready for Friday,\u201d explained Taylor.<\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s up for the challenge. Taylor already has the football IQ, leadership skills, and coaching experience to guide the program.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s about making a smooth transition and becoming a voice that can lead Scripps Ranch to another championship. One thing is for certain: Gardinera wouldn\u2019t hand over the keys to just anyone. He knows Taylor is the man for the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for the quality of the product, the message, and the importance of the kids \u2014 nothing has changed. This guy\u2019s better than me, absolutely,\u201d Gardinera said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO (FOX 5\/KUSI) \u2014 Scripps Ranch head football coach Marlon Gardinera and offensive coordinator John Taylor are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,5951,23,5952,100,5954,74,76,75,5953,127,5955],"class_list":{"0":"post-5470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-john-taylor","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-marlton-gardinera","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-prep-pigskin-report","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-headlines","16":"tag-san-diego-news","17":"tag-scripps-ranch","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-this-weeks-games"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}