Taft football coach Jeff Kearin resigns in favor of assistant principal

When Jeff Kearin was hired as the football coach at Taft in 2021, the school had 27 players on the team and was coming off a winless, COVID-19-shortened season. The Toreadors also did not have a home field last season as they waited for a new all-weather field to be completed.

The team now has more than 100 players, a new stadium is set to open this fall and Taft won the City Section Division III championship in 2021.

So why did Kearin announce his resignation on Thursday just as the show was getting underway?

He said he was resigning in support of assistant principal for athletics Neezer McNab, who has faced disciplinary action and possible demotion by school principal Daniel Steiner for telling students to turn down music.

“He’s an amazing administrator,” said Kearin, the former Loyola head coach who came to Taft after McNab was recruited.

McNab is a former chairman of the Borough Board of Supervisors and a current CIF representative from the State Council Township Division and a member of the CIF Executive Committee. Her husband is former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football coach Joe McNab.

“He’s always there for all the student-athletes,” City Department Commissioner Vicky Lagos said.

“This was not my plan,” Kearin said of his departure.

McNab has gone through the grievance process within the Los Angeles Unified School District and continues to serve as an assistant principal pending resolution of his dispute.

In a statement from an LAUSD spokesperson: “We commend the football coach for his contributions to the Taft Charter High School community. While personnel matters are confidential, the district thoroughly handles administrative matters in close cooperation with the school. Throughout the administrative process, we prioritize a school environment that fosters respect, kindness and compassion .”