Dave Ramirez (front) watches his Pueblo East team take the field during the 2014 Class 3A state championship game. (Mark Adams)
COLORADO SPRINGS – The football staff at Liberty High School got two major upgrades this summer with the addition of two former head coaches.
Former Pueblo East coach Dave Ramirez, who won a Class 3A state title in 2014 with the Eagles, and former St. Mary’s coach Nic Olney have both been added to Marc Sites’s sideline for the 2015 season.
“We’re very excited to have Dave and Nic join our staff,” Sites said. “It’s a huge boost for our program. What they bring to the table for us is going to be huge this season.”
Ramirez left his position at Pueblo East in the spring and joined Liberty, initially as a teacher. Upon getting hired, Lancers athletic director Michael Sibley informed Sites that Ramirez was working at the school as a teacher.
Stiles jumped at the chance to add a state championship-winning coach to his staff.
“My AD contacted me and said that Dave might be joining Liberty as a teacher,” Sites said. “Once he was hired, I contacted him and met with him a couple of times. It was one of those things that happened with the right place and right time.”
The same could be said for the addition of Olney. He resigned as the coach of the Pirates early in the summer after leading the team to a 7-3 record.
Looking around for the next chapter of his coaching career, Olney saw an opportunity at Liberty and jumped at the chance to join the Lancers.
“We had a position open and he inquired,” Sites said. “He contacted me last week and we had an opening and we met up and came to an agreement and we’re looking forward to bringing him on board.”
Both coaches will be on hand when official practices begin Aug. 17.