Leadership

Coaching Staff

Building confident student-athletes through preparation, accountability, and team-first football.

Brian Crum photo

Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator

Brian Crum

Coach Crum enters his 15th year as Head Coach of the Cougars with a 98–48 record, making him the winningest coach in program history. Now in his 30th year of coaching and teaching, he has been named IMC Coach of the Year five times (2013, 2017, 2020, 2023, 2024). A graduate of Modoc High School, Crum played at Pepperdine and coached at Oak Park High School before coming to Mountain View. He teaches social studies at MVHS, has also served as the varsity baseball coach, and is the proud father of three children.

brian.crum@bend.k12.or.us

The staff

Assistant coaches

Coach photo

Defensive Backs Coach

Mike Huff

Coach Huff returns for his 22nd season at Mountain View, after coaching five years at Crook County High School. A 2000 graduate of Crook County, Huff received his Bachelor's degree from Oregon State in 2005 and Masters degree from Eastern Oregon University in 2006. After two years teaching at St. Francis, Huff joined the Mountain View teaching staff in 2008 where he teaches Social Studies. After coaching the Varsity Defensive Backs and acting as the Head JV Coach, Huff took over the Varsity Linebacker duties in 2009. He then spent 3 years as the Varsity Defensive Coordinator before returning to the Linebackers. He will now be with the Defensive backs for his 7th year. He married his wife Katie in 2007, and together they have two daughters, Kennedy 15, and 13 year old Kassidy.

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Running Backs Coach

Taylor Vallerga

Taylor is a graduate of Mountain View High School (class of 1987), and is now a teacher and coach himself at MVHS. Vallerga received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Oregon State University in 1992. After spending four years in Portland, he moved back to Bend and in 1996 joined the football coaching staff at MVHS. That same year, Vallerga went back to school to obtain his teaching degree, finishing his credential in 1998. The next year, he began teaching at Mountain View and is currently teaching psychology, A.P psychology and US history. Vallerga's high school playing career at MVHS featured two years as a varsity lettermen, while being selected as an All-IMC punter, defensive back and third team All-State punter, as a junior. His senior year, he was chosen as an All-IMC punter, receiver and defensive back, and was also selected to play in the 1987 Shrine All-Star game. During Vallerga's coaching career at MVHS, he has had the honor of working with many of the men who were there to coach for him in high school (his mentors), including his father Paul Vallerga, Paul Smith and former MVHS head coach John Nehl. He has coached defensive backs, receivers and punters, and is currently coaching running backs.

Coach photo

Defensive Coordinator – Linebackers Coach

Tanner Cook

Tanner is a graduate of Redmond High School, and earned his Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Eastern Oregon University. After graduating in 2010 he immediately began his coaching career at La Pine High School where he coached offensive line, defensive line, and outside linebackers for 3 seasons. In 2013 Tanner became the Head football coach at Pilot Butte Middle School where he spent 2 seasons coaching the class of 2019 through their 7th and 8th grade years. Tanner moved into the Defensive Coordinator position in the fall of 2020 after coaching Linebackers and being the JV Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach. Tanner will also begin his journey as a teacher in 2026 teaching Elementary School PE at Rosalind Elementary in Lapine. When not in school, coaching football, watching football, reading about football, or talking about football, Tanner enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with his wife Ashley, son Drake, and daughter Raeyven.

Coach photo

Offensive Line Coach

Brant Mellor

Brant graduated from Canby High School as a three sport lettermen: Football, Basketball and Baseball. At Canby, Brant played tight end and was a starting pitcher on the baseball team. He continued on to Western Oregon University to play baseball and earn his undergraduate teaching degree. He then earned his Master's Degree in Geographic Education at the University of Oregon and taught and coached baseball at Churchill High School in Eugene, Oregon before moving to Central Oregon. At Redmond High School, he coached freshman football for two years and then was the offensive coordinator and line coach for the J.V. team for an additional two years and coached the J.V. basketball team for five years. Brant has been teaching and coaching for 26 years and has helped coach teams that have reached the state playoffs in Football, Basketball and Baseball. In addition to coaching Football at Mountain View he teaches AP Human Geography and AP European history. His wife, Wendy is an Equine surgeon at Bend Equine Center, and have a son, Finn (15) and 11 year old daughter, Aven.

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Varsity WR's / JV Offensive Coordinator

Leslie Combs III

Leslie begins his 3rd year with the Cougars football program as the Wide Receivers Coach, after previously coaching 8th grade football at Sky View Middle School. Born and raised in Bend, Leslie is a 2019 graduate of Mountain View High School. Leslie was a three-sport athlete in football, wrestling, and track and field, where he competed in the javelin, and served as a team captain in football and wrestling. He helped lead the wrestling team to a district championship in 2018, was a two-time district placer and state qualifier, and contributed to two top-four team finishes at the state tournament. Leslie was also a starting defensive player on the 2017 IMC championship football team. Leslie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Southern Oregon University in 2023. While in college, he officiated middle and high school wrestling matches across Oregon and worked as the Lodge and Firearms Sales Lead at Field & Stream in Medford. In 2023, Leslie married his wife, Dallas, in Jamaica. Outside of coaching, he enjoys golfing, camping, and spending time with his pet bunny, Millie.

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V/JV/Freshman Offensive Line Coach

Bill Ellington

Bill graduated from Gilchrist High-school in 2010 and attended Western Oregon University where he played offensive line for the Wolves for 5 years. After graduation he was recruited by the Portland Thunder and the San Jose Sabercats arena football teams. After college he enlisted in the Oregon Army National Guard where he served for 6 years and went on 1 deployment. He is currently living in Bend and is finishing up flight school where he is working on getting his commercial pilot certification. This is Coach Ellington's third season at MV.

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Varsity Defensive Line Coach

Andrew Sage

Andrew begins his first year as an assistant coach for the Cougars. He graduated in 1990 from Olympic High School in Silverdale, Washington where he played football and baseball. Andrew went to Central Washington University where he played football from 1990-1994. He graduated with a degree in Biology and later received his Master's in 2001. He started his coaching career at Kentwood High School coaching DE's. He moved on to Issaquah High School where he was the Defensive Coordinator for three years. In 1999, Andrew accepted the Assistant Head Coach position at Western Montana University. While at Western Montana, Andrew coached LB's and was the DC. Andrew served as Head Coach in 2000. Andrew returned to high school in 2001 for a more stable environment to start a family. He was the Head Coach at Auburn Riverside High School from 2001-2007, before going to Bonney Lake High School, where he coached until 2019. Andrew and his wife Sarah moved to Central Oregon in 2024. He has two sons McKay 23, and Cole 20.

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JV Head Coach / Varsity Linebackers

Alex Hall

Alex has grown up in Bend since moving here at age 7. After graduating High School in Bend in '09, he moved to Eugene and began coaching and running youth sports programs in the valley. In 2017 he began coaching tackle football back home. Alex is currently a campus security officer at Mountain View where he also coaches for the MV Basketball and Baseball programs. Most recently, he coached football at Pilot Butte Middle School where he has spent the last 2 seasons coaching the class of 2024 through their 7th and 8th grade years. He will be in his third year coaching at the High School level this year. Alex is excited to continue to work with, and now be a part of the Cougar Football Family & Staff.

Coach photo

JV/Freshman OL/DL Coach

Dominick Valdez

Coach Valdez is entering his second year on the Mountain View football staff, serving as the Junior Varsity Offensive and Defensive Line Coach. A Mountain View graduate, Coach Valdez proudly returns to his alma mater after suiting up for the Cougars as a center. During his playing career, he was recognized as an Honorable Mention All-League selection in his senior season. Off the field, Coach Valdez is pursuing his broker's license with the goal of becoming a realtor. He is excited to begin his coaching career where his playing journey began and looks forward to mentoring the next generation of Cougar student-athletes.

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Freshman Head Coach – DB/QB

Shawn Morris

Shawn grew up in Folsom California and played football from 4th grade through his Senior Year of High School. After spending many years working with High School students and other youth as a counselor he decided to follow his passion of football and coach at the high school level. Shawn is entering his fourth year as a Freshman position coach and brings his experience and love of the game as well as his experience working with and developing teenagers into successful and driven young adults. In his free time Shawn attends OSU Cascades and enjoys working on cars and motorcycles. He will now begin his third year as the freshman Head Coach.

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Freshman Defensive Coordinator – LB/WR Coach

Rick Mottern

Rick is a graduate of John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California where he was a multisport athlete. He has been a business owner for the past 26 years with companies in the RV, building, and fabrication industries. He has been with Mountain View Football for five seasons, coaching freshmen RB's and linebackers. This will be his 2nd season as freshman defensive coordinator. Rick has been coaching youth sports since moving to Bend 9 years ago and serves as a coach for the Bend Caldera Lacrosse program as well as Mountain View feeder basketball teams. His coaching philosophy centers on creating a positive environment where athletes learn and grow on and off the field. He emphasizes grit, tenacity, team unity, fundamentals, and accountability. When not coaching, Rick enjoys camping, snowboarding, playing basketball, and mountain biking. His wife, Jody, is a teacher at Mountain View and they have two children, Ruby, a Junior at MV, and Brewer, a 9th grade Football player at MV.

MVCoach photo

Freshman RB/DB Coach

Matt Gylling

Coach Gylling begins his 1st year coaching football at Mountain View HS. A 2000 graduate of Colfax High School in Colfax, WA. Gylling earned his Bachelors (2004) and Masters (2009) at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Matt has coached baseball at the high school level for over 20 years and has been at MV for 9 years as an assistant. Coach Gylling also teaches math at MV and will start his 10 year at MV in 2026. His wife, Amanda, is an assistant elementary principal at Juniper Elementary and his son, Micah, is a freshman at MV this year.

Program history

MV head coaches

Coach	Years	Record
Brian Crum	2012–present	98–48
Steve Turner	2008–2011	40–7
John Nehl	2001–2006	24–33
Jerry Hackenbruck	1997–2000	29–16
John Nehl	1994–1996	18–12
Clyde Powell	1978–1993	97–85