Earlier this morning, the original story about Saint Louis’ pursuit of Darnell Arceneaux was posted here.
Back on Monday, I interviewed him for a story that was later pulled at his request, and never ran.
Now that he’s returning as football coach at Saint Louis, leaving Mililani after four seasons, here’s more of what he contemplated on Monday. He spoke as he coached his son Cole’s basketball team at practice that afternoon.
Darnell Arceneaux:
“For me, the biggest thing is, if I make a career change, how does it benefit my family?”
“I have a bunch of great families I work with at Mililani.”
“They’re putting a package together. With the way the economy is going, I have to look at it and say, ‘Can I really make it?’ They put some things on the table where it might be an administrative position or teaching position.”
“This is just talk and it’s part of the business. It’s not that I’m leaving.”
“Coaches at colleges interview other coaches every year. I’d be a fool not to listen to what my alma mater has to say.”
“We’ve got three children: Chloe is a sophomore, Cole is 10 and we just had a baby girl, El, who’s five months old. It’s a family decision and we’re going through the right channels.”
“Furloughs this year kind of hurt my wife and me (both are teachers). We both took a pay cut. And they want us to work three extra days for free.”
“I’ve been working with my guys since February, 6:30 in the morning and 2:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon in the weight room.”
“We’ve just been praying that the Lord guide us. We’ve been doing good things at Mililani. My coaching staff and a lot of people have contributed here.”
“(Athletic director) Glenn Nitta gave me a lot of leeway to change things to make them work. My goal is still to be a college coach. If someone asks me next year to be a receivers coach, I’ll do that. I’ve got dreams and goals.”
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