Bingham football adds coaching legend Fred Fernandes as its new offensive coordinator
May 02, 2022 08:40PM ● By Brian Shaw
By Brian Shaw | [email protected]
It’s crazy enough when you have to follow someone who is as revered as The Beatles as Dave Peck is in South Jordan.
Working alongside the Rolling Stones isn’t too shabby though.
When you’re a new head coach like Eric Jones is, and you’re at a big-time program like Bingham’s, hiring a guy like Fred Fernandes as your new offensive coordinator is a power move.
Especially when Fernandes was Roy’s head coach and had to step down from the position he’s held there since 2011 to accept Jones’ offer in late March.
“I could not be more excited to continue working with Fred,” said the new Bingham head coach who prepped at Roy. “We had a great run at Roy for 11 years and even though I considered it a long shot to get him to leave Roy, I had to try. He's such a great person, teacher, and play caller.”
Fernandes is true Utah high school football royalty. At Northridge, the former Utah State wide receiver coached the Knights to a legendary three-peat of state titles from 2000 to 2002 — only one of a select handful of coaches to have ever done so.
The innovative Fernandes will be Jones’ offensive coordinator and will also teach at Bingham, added the new head coach.
“I believe his offensive style and attitude will fit perfectly at Bingham,” said Jones. “Fred knows how to pound the rock, attack coverage in the passing game, and keep teams honest with screens and trick plays. He adapts his offense annually to fit his players' skill sets.”
Last year, Fernandes’ Royals featured one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Parker Kingston — who signed with BYU. That Roy offense put up video game numbers in Class 6A, amassing over 3,000 rushing yards — 1,200 alone from Kingston, who scored 18 rushing touchdowns. Kingston also threw for about 1,000 yards in the air under the tutelage of Fernandes.
Having been Fernandes’ defensive coordinator at Roy up until Jones accepted the job at Bingham this past spring, Jones added that he couldn’t be more pleased that the guy he considers family has decided to become a Miner.
“Having a seasoned veteran and legend like Fred around will be invaluable to me and our program,” Jones said. “Fred's been a great mentor to me and I owe so much to him for taking a chance on me 11 years ago.
It's a great comfort to me as a first-year head coach knowing that I won't have to worry one bit about how prepared our offense will be.”
