McNary turns to Connor Astley to lead football program; Craig Howard disciple aims to ‘continue legacy’ of late Southern Oregon coaching legend

“There is no ‘I’, there is only ‘we’ at McNary, and that really spoke to me because that’s what coach Howard said at SOU.”

By Bob Lundeberg 

Photos courtesy of Connor Astley 

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McNary didn’t have to look far to find a suitable replacement for Jeff Auvinen.

Eleven days after the veteran coach announced his resignation in a Facebook post, the Celtics chose offensive coordinator Connor Astley to lead the football program moving forward. Astley, a 2013 Sprague graduate, played at Southern Oregon and is entering his fifth year teaching and coaching at McNary. 

“This is something I’ve wanted for a long time, even before I ever became a coach,” Astley said. “Football was always something that was special to me, and I wanted to continue to pass on the legacies of the coaches who have coached me and give back to the game I love.”

Astley was inspired to get into coaching by the late Craig Howard, who led the SOU program from 2011-16. Astley was an offensive lineman for the Raiders’ 2014 national championship team.

Howard died unexpectedly in 2017 at the age of 64 following a day of recruiting.

“Coach Howard has had a tremendous influence on my life,” Astley said. “He did more than I think any coach ever could or will do to make connections and build relationships. … I want to continue his legacy of producing people of character, strength and honor through our program.”

Astley played football at Sprague under Robin Hill and Jay Minyard before moving on to SOU.

“Both are amazing coaches who I have the utmost respect for,” Astley said. “I’m still in contact with both to this day, and they are also huge influences on my life.”

Following his playing career, Astley took a teaching job at McNary and began coaching on Auvinen’s staff. He worked with the offensive and defensive lines and spent the past two years as the varsity offensive coordinator.

Astley and Kyle McGrath, who has been promoted to OC, created McNary’s spread offense from scratch. Astley said much of the staff appears to be staying in place.

“I’ve been making calls all day talking to the coaches, and so far we’re looking pretty good,” Astley said.

Astley is taking over for Auvinen, who went 35-33 overall with two conference titles in seven seasons at McNary. The Celtics went 7-4 last fall and reached the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

A few weeks ago, Auvinen talked to the coaching staff and said that he was unsure about his desire to continue leading the program. He submitted his resignation a week or two later, leaving McNary without a coach less than two months before its Sept. 2 season-opener at Lakeridge.

“He just wanted us to be prepped in case he would resign,” Astley said. “He never said ‘I’m going to do this until the day before he resigned. He just told us that he needed to step away and enjoy some time with his family and kids.”

Astley said the hiring process moved at a rapid pace. He submitted his application on July 5 and had an interview with the hiring committee Wednesday.

The interview went well enough for athletic director Scott Gragg and principal Erik Jespersen to offer Astley the job Thursday morning. He immediately accepted and was officially announced as McNary’s new head coach Thursday afternoon.

“Coach Astley shows great promise to expand the pride and tradition at McNary,” Gragg said in a press release. “Coach Astley has already contributed to the success at McNary on and off the field as an assistant coach and world class educator.”

Astley said it was apparent that his values matched those of the McNary administration.

“When Erik offered me the position, he talked about McNary being a close-knit family and how we’re all in this together,” Astley said. “There is no ‘I’, there is only ‘we’ at McNary, and that really spoke to me because that’s what coach Howard said at SOU.

“For me, I’m going to be here a long time. I see myself being at McNary for years to come. I want my kids to go to McNary, I want to give the community my all and I want them to reciprocate that as well. The community relationship is key.”

As for the upcoming season, Astley is excited about the Celtics’ potential on and off the field. Mountain Valley Conference offensive player of the year Tyler Copeland and 10 other all-league selections have moved on, but Astley is planning to lean on a batch of returning leaders that include Hunter Ruberto, Jesse Dyer, Ben Allen and Jake Allen.

“My ultimate goal here is to produce players of character, strength and honor who graduate McNary High School as better people than when they entered,” Astley said. “If we have guys who buy into those things, the score on the football field takes care of itself.”