Seaside's football team finished 5-5 last season, losing at Henley in the first round of the 4A playoffs. (Photo by Jeff TerHar)

Jeff Roberts, who coached Seaside to the 4A football final in 2018 before stepping down to focus on his duties as principal, has returned for his third stint as the Seagulls' coach.

Seaside began searching for a coach early this year after the resignation of Aaron Tanabe, who stepped down after six seasons to take the job at 6A Southridge. But when the school was unable to settle on Tanabe's successor, Roberts agreed to take the position.

“I'm going to do this for at least a year, and hopefully be able to mentor somebody to a point where they can take over the program,” Roberts said. “I anticipate this as a one- to two-year transition period.

“We had applicants. I guess maybe I'm super particular, I'm picky about who's going to carry on the legacy of this program. It was a challenge to get somebody that would carry on what we've established over the last 10, 12 years between Aaron and I.”

Roberts compiled a 37-21 record in his previous two stints as coach (2012-15 and 2017-18). In 2013, he led Seaside to its first playoff win in 19 years. In 2018, he guided the Seagulls to the state final for the first time since winning the 1994 title.

Roberts resigned after the 2015 season when he became the school's principal and was replaced by Chad Smith. When Smith stepped down following the 2016 season, Roberts filled in for 2017 and 2018, then handed the job off to Tanabe.

Tanabe went 28-25 in the last six seasons, including a semifinal appearance in 2023. The Seagulls finished 5-5 last season, falling at Henley 43-35 in the first round of the 4A playoffs.

Roberts stayed connected to the football program during Tanabe's tenure.

“We kind of joked and called me a consultant,” Roberts said. “While I wasn't front and center, I still watched a lot of film, still went to practices here and there, sat upstairs with the headset on Friday nights.

“A lot of those kids on Aaron's teams, I coached their older brothers and sisters. To be able to remain involved was really cool.”

Now Roberts is back to dual roles as principal and head football coach.

“It's a ton to balance,” he said. “I've got six, seven more years under my belt as principal, with a much clearer understanding of what that looks like.”

Roberts has added assistants Dennis Olstedt, Cody Hartsoch and James Nagel to the staff. He said Joel Dierickx and Nikita Smith will return as assistants.

“I was able to bring in some assistants that I'm confident are willing to learn and will be able to take over the program,” Roberts said.

Olstedt, a Seaside graduate who coached under Roberts in 2012 while completing his graduate degree, moves back from Texas to become the assistant head coach. He has assisted at Glide and Scappoose, where he was head track coach. He also was a head cross country coach in Texas.

“His experiences are rich,” Roberts said of Olstedt, the brother of Seaside girls basketball coach Marla Olstedt. “It's just being a head football coach is different than being a head cross country coach. We'll get him up to speed on football acumen. He's a high-energy, great young man.”

Roberts and Nikita Smith will coordinate the offense and defense, respectively. Nagel, who most recently coached at Estacada, will be the special teams coordinator.

Seaside graduated much of its offensive firepower in quarterback Zayden Anderson, running back Jake White and receiver Jordan Westerholm. The Seagulls return senior running back Ryder Jackson, the 4A runner-up in the 100 and 200 meters.

“The kid's a huge difference-maker,” Roberts said. “He's explosive. He hits a seam and there's nobody in the state that's going to catch him.”

Junior Brayden Cooley is the leading candidate to replace Anderson at quarterback.

“The offense will look a little bit different, maybe more back to the traditional wing-T that we ran in the past,” Roberts said. “It's just because we don't have that kid with the big arm that's going to stretch the field. We'll be a little bit more run-centric.”

Roberts expects Scappoose, Tillamook and Seaside to be the top contenders in the Cowapa League.

“We'll be pretty darn good one-deep,” he said. “We've just got to stay healthy.”