JJ Navarrete had a good thing going as the football coach at Gervais. Under his watch, the Cougars rebounded from going winless in 2021 to making the state semifinals the last two years.
So when the job opened this year at Woodburn – where he graduated in 2002, cut his teeth as an assistant coach and has lived for 30 years – he wasn't looking to make a move.
“I wasn't going to apply at all,” he said. “Everything at Gervais was all set up for this year. But being that I'm still around the community in Woodburn, everybody I ran into, they would say, 'Hey, are you going to apply?'”
The idea was difficult to resist for Navarrete, whose two children attend school in Woodburn. By mid-February, he came around and threw his hat in the ring. In March, he was hired as Woodburn's coach to succeed Rob Kassebaum, who went 12-25 in four seasons.
“My course had run at Gervais, for the most part,” Navarrete said. “I could have stayed there two more years. They have a phenomenal group for the next couple years. They could be successful and make a run. But I thought, 'Why not give myself an opportunity to do it at my alma mater?'”
Navarrete said that Kassebaum had offered him opportunities to rejoin the Woodburn staff in recent seasons, but Navarrete did not want to give up being a head coach. After the job opened, Kassebaum was among those who reached out to him, according to Navarrete.
“He said, 'This is yours. These kids talk about you over here,'” Navarrete said.
Navarrete made a dramatic difference in six seasons at Gervais. After finishing 2-2, 0-9 and 3-6 in his first three seasons, the Cougars went 9-2, 9-2 and 8-4 the last three seasons. They made the 2A quarterfinals in 2023 – posting their first playoff win since 1951 – and made the 2A semifinals in 2024 and 3A semifinals in 2025.
Navarrete was assisted by his younger brother, Eric Navarrete, the defensive coordinator.
“It was hard work,” Navarrete said. “The Gervais kids loved us. They would do anything for us. They just gave us everything they've got. You show them love, they show you love. We preach family all the time.”
After getting hired at Woodburn, Navarrete had an emotional meeting with the Gervais players.
“I told them that I've got to do what's in the best interest of my family,” said Navarrete, who has a freshman daughter, Kourtney, and fifth-grade son, Jaxon. “There were some kids that were heartbroken … and I get that. But they said, 'We're not mad, Coach, we know you've got to do what you've got to do.'”
Navarrete spent 13 years coaching in Woodburn, starting with the youth program in 2004 and joining the high school staff in 2008. He left for Gervais, where he assisted Josh Crawford (2017) and former Woodburn coach Tracy Jackson (2019), before becoming head coach in 2020.
He returns to Woodburn with Eric Navarrete, his coaching partner since they graduated from high school. Eric will be the offensive coordinator and Ray Williams will run the defense, coming over from the staff at 4A Molalla.
Woodburn moved from the 5A Mid-Willamette Conference to 4A Special District 2 last season after meeting the OSAA criteria to drop down one classification. The Bulldogs finished 1-8 and scored 84 points, the second-lowest output in 4A.
JJ Navarrete had success with a power-running game at Gervais, but he said he will adapt to his personnel at Woodburn. The Bulldogs will start with a modified fly offense with hopes of moving toward the spread.
“We really want to graduate to the run-and-shoot,” he said.
Woodburn is slotted to join 4A Special District 1 next season, along with Astoria, Banks, Scappoose, Seaside, Taft and Tillamook. JJ Navarrete is eager to climb back to 5A in coming seasons.
“I want to play the Wilsonvilles, the Canbys. I'm not shying away from anybody,” he said. “If I can get the numbers, and get the kids coached up and ready to go … after that, we'll be good.”
Woodburn's turnout fell below 50 by the end of last season, less than half of what it was during Navarrete's first stint on the Bulldogs' staff. He said 57 showed up for helmet fittings last week.
“I believe we should be rolling with about 80 kids for the team this year,” he said. “When we start showing these guys what we're about, this thing only has room to grown and flourish.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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