Joe Silvey stepped down as Fallbrook High School’s head football coach November 7.

Silvey announced his resignation five days after a Fallbrook loss which concluded the Warriors’ season with a 1-9 record. "The results weren’t very satisfactory," Silvey said. "There are times when if you’re not happy with the results you’ve got to look at what you can do about it."

Silvey posted an 11-42-1 record during his five years as Fallbrook’s head coach, including a 2-2 figure in CIF playoff matches.

"We are losing a highly qualified head coach," said Fallbrook athletic director Patrick Walker.

Walker noted that Silvey’s first year included San Diego Chargers high school coach of the week honors along with a playoff victory before a second-round loss. "In the playoffs he led us within inches of going to the semifinals. He literally turned this program around in one year. Yes, it has been a struggle over the past couple of years, but Joe had the integrity to realize it just wasn’t working out and decided it was time to hand it over to someone else," Walker said.

Under Fallbrook Union High School District policy district staff will have the first opportunity to be considered for the coaching position. If no suitable applicants are obtained from within the school district the position will be opened to other aspirants.

"At this point we are looking for the best fit and we’re offering it in-house and just want the best coach for our football program," Walker said. "We are determined to turn this thing around and will settle for nothing less than the best fit for the student-athletes in the football program."

Silvey, who is an English teacher as well as a coach, will remain on Fallbrook High School’s faculty. "We hope that Joe will stay on as part of the football staff. Winning five CIF championships as a D-coordinator is a pretty good indicator of his qualifications and the respect he has throughout the North County and Orange Advertisement

[ Pala Mesa Resort ] County," Walker said.

Silvey began his coaching career as the defensive coordinator of Santa Margarita Catholic High School and helped the Eagles to CIF Southern Section championships in 1996 and 1997. He was the defensive coordinator at Carlsbad High School for eight years including the Lancers’ 2002, 2005, and 2006 teams which won CIF championships and Carlsbad’s 2000 squad which lost to Fallbrook in the CIF championship game.

Silvey grew up in Mission Viejo and attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, where he was a linebacker on the football team and also played soccer and was on the track and field team. He was an English major at Princeton University and spent one season on the Tigers’ football team.

The Warriors finished 0-10 in 2006 and 2-8 in 2007 under coach Patrick Schmidt. In 2008 Fallbrook had a 4-6 regular-season record, including a 2-3 mark in Avocado League competition. The Warriors earned a first-round playoff match at Mira Mesa and defeated the Marauders in a 21-17 game. Fallbrook then lost to second-seeded Escondido by a 14-12 score in the semifinals.

"We certainly the first year did some exciting things," Silvey said.

The 2009 Warriors had a 2-8 record in the regular season but received a berth in the CIF playoffs. Fallbrook opened the post-season with a win over Rancho Bernardo before losing to Vista in the quarterfinals.

Fallbrook had a 1-8-1 record in 2010 and finished 2011 with a 1-9 mark.

Three of Silvey’s former players are now on rosters of NCAA Division I schools: Zach Brickell plays for Nevada, Jeremiah Kolone is at San Jose State, and Taylor Perry is with Tulane. Current senior Sean Dowling is expected to sign with UCLA on February 6, the first day this year’s seniors can sign college letters of intent for football.

"I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people at Fallbrook," Silvey said. "I know that they’ll support the new coach and continue to support their team."