Canyon Coach Rau Resigns

Bob Rau, who failed to win a game in his first season at Canyon High School, has resigned as the school’s football coach.

Rau was hired last spring by Jack Fox, the school’s principal, with the hopes of rebuilding the football team, which was 2-7-1 the previous season.

Rau had won 4 Freeway League titles in 5 seasons at La Habra from 1983-87 and had spent 17 years teaching in the Fullerton Union High School District before resigning to accept the position at Canyon.

Canyon was 0-10 under Rau, marking only the second time Rau had experienced a winless season as a coach. Rau was an assistant at Lowell High in Whittier in 1971 when the school went 0-9.

“I’m resigning because there doesn’t appear to be a teaching position for me at the school next year,” Rau said. “I’m disappointed because I was put in an impossible situation, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

Rau has spent the past 2 months off campus as a counselor for the district’s Regional Occupational Program after learning he had been hired on a temporary teaching contract in the Orange Unified School District.

“I’ll find something next year, either on the high school or college level,” he said. “I’m just sorry for the kids that things didn’t work out at Canyon High School.”