After back to back three win seasons, Tamalpais High School has announced James Holan as the new head football coach. They parted ways with Anthony Mejia who led the program for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. After an extensive hiring process, coach Holan was selected as the best fit to start a new football culture for the Hawks.
Holan brings 18 years of experience to the Hawks, coaching NFL pros such as Fred Warner and Chris Olave in his early years. For the last 6 seasons, Holan has been Coaching in Oregon at Clackamas High School. For Holan, coaching jobs have brought him up and down the Pacific Coast, from San Diego to British Columbia. The opportunity to coach at Tam is very meaningful because it brings him back home. Holan graduated from Tam in 2002 and grew up in Mill Valley. “After 18 years of coaching and the last six years in Oregon, coming home is special,” Holan said. “Being close to my family means the world to me.”
In his first season Holan has four core pillars he wants the program to build on. These pillars are team, excellence, attitude, and class. “We are hoping to build a culture based on these four pillars,” Holan said. “I believe they build winning football cultures and strong people. We will compete in everything we do and have fun doing it.”
In this first season with the team Holan wants to see his players embrace a growth mindset. He hopes his players will pride themselves on resilience. “In year one, I want our players to embrace a growth mindset and be willing to fail,” Holan said. “Failure is part of the process to success. How we respond to and learn from those failures is incredibly important.”
Athletic Director Nathan Johnson cited, “His coaching experience, passion for the game, love for Tam High… and competitive winning attitude and spirit,” as being central reasons for the hire.
With a new leader, and a clearer vision, the Red-Tailed Hawks look to fly into this new football season stronger than ever.