Head Coach

The Clippers have yet to begin their coaching search in earnest and probably won't for a few weeks, a team spokesman said. General Manager Elgin Baylor and Vice President Andy Roeser have been out of town in the last month. The Clippers have had only preliminary discussions with Dennis Johnson, who served as interim coach for the final 24 games after Alvin Gentry was fired March 3 with the team in last place in the Pacific Division with a 19-39 record.

Jeff Brinkley, football coach at Norwalk High School, has been named the new head coach at Newport Harbor High School, Sailor Athletic Director Bill Pizzica announced Friday. Brinkley replaces Mike Giddings, who retired following the 1985 season to devote more time to his business interests, which include Pro Scout, Inc., a scouting combine that services many National Football League teams. "Jeff's a winner and had done very well at Norwalk," Pizzica said.

This spring was a particularly tough time for the Beverly Hills High football program. Memories remained from the bitter teachers' strike in the fall, which resulted in the forfeiture of three games, the resignations of longtime Co-Coaches Dick Billingsley and Bill Stansbury to accept jobs at other schools and the cancellation of spring drills. "All anyone could talk about was transferring out of here," junior Ziv Gottlieb said.

After a manic Monday cost the jobs of five men, there are suddenly enough Help Wanted ads for the NFL to start printing a classified section. Start with new vacancies in Chicago, Seattle, Carolina, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Add one in San Diego where there's an interim replacement and another in Cleveland for the expansion Browns. Anticipate yet another if the Redskins are sold and new ownership decides to clean house. That makes seven definites and a possible eight job openings.

Art Shell, who spent his entire 27-year NFL career with the Raiders, was fired Thursday by the man who made him the first black head coach in the modern NFL. Shell, a Hall of Fame tackle, was fired by owner Al Davis and replaced by assistant Mike White. "He was one of the great contributors we have ever had," Davis said. Davis said he wants a Super Bowl title and needs a new coach to get there. "I'm not the coach here, I don't want to be," Davis said when asked about his hands-on approach.

Donny Daniels was disappointed when he wasn't offered the Cal State Fullerton basketball coaching job last spring. Daniels, a former Titan player and assistant coach, remained as an assistant to Rick Majerus at Utah. He says he still wants to be a Division I head coach and hopes the right job will come along.

High schools needing a football coach lend an ear. The Newbury Park High passing attack that has logged more than 15,000 yards and several Southern Section and state records the past five seasons can be yours. Gary Fabricius, the offensive coordinator since 1989 and Panther assistant since 1981, is ready and willing to take over his own program.

Only a decade ago, defensive coaches in the National Football League were a lot like Dan Quayle -- fine in their place but not generally considered chief executive officer material. "In 1979 we went to (Ray) Perkins as the head coach," New York Giants General Manager George Young said. "He was an offensive coordinator, one of the golden boys. (Bill) Walsh, (Joe) Gibbs and later (Dan) Reeves and (Mike) Ditka were the guys people were hiring.

Football purists might cringe when they hear Texas players talk about dancing to rap music with their coach. Or when a USC linebacker says he would not want to play for a man who screams and curses all the time. "I wouldn't be comfortable," Oscar Lua said. "I prefer the laid-back, California-beach style." The archetypal football coach comes in two forms, stone-faced or caustic, both decidedly autocratic. The standard was established by the likes of Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes.