It's been five years since Oliver Lucas last coached in Colorado, but he still keeps the cellphone number with the 303 area code. It's the one all of his former players know.

“That's so every kid I've coached from California to Colorado to Kentucky can always contact Coach Lucas,” he said. “I'm not a hypocrite when I say I'll be there for life. If you play for me, it's a lifetime experience for both of us.”

It's that kind of story that attracted the Manual High administration and led to Lucas' hiring as the Crimsons' football coach, a move that was announced Friday.

He will replace Joe Nichols, who finished his nine-year tenure as the program's all-time winningest coach with a record of 66-38.

Manual was one of two Jefferson County Public Schools to name new football coaches Friday. Ravon Patterson, who led Shawnee to a 10-12 record the past two seasons, has been named Robert Johnson's replacement at Moore.

The 59-year-old Lucas spent the past four seasons at Bryan Station, going 21-23. That included a 9-3 record last season, capping a remarkable turnaround for a program that had gone 7-42 in the five years before Lucas arrived.

But Lucas' most notable coaching job came at the University of Colorado, where he was the running backs coach from 1984-91. The Buffaloes won the national championship in 1990.

“I had a very good mentor there in (head coach) Bill McCartney,” Lucas said. “He was always forward-thinking and pushing the envelope, but he also maintained his integrity.”

“Integrity” and “charisma” were two words Manual principal Larry Wooldridge used when talking about Lucas' hiring.

“The most recognizable face at a high school is the head football coach,” Wooldridge said. “Coach Lucas is a gentleman who will represent Manual with energy, integrity and class. I could not be more excited about his hiring.”

Lucas grew up in Los Angeles, where he attended Manual Arts High School and the nearby University of La Verne. He coached high school football in Los Angeles before taking the job at Colorado, then coached at two Denver high schools (Thomas Jefferson and Montbello).

He took the Bryan Station job in 2006, fulfilling a promise to his wife, Dyonne, that they'd one day move to Kentucky. Dyonne Lucas is from Mount Sterling, Ky.

Lucas inherits a Manual program that was 5-7 last season but saw the emergence of several talented sophomores, led by Percy Minor, DarMontre Warr, Darnell Gardner and Quintez Sutton.

Wooldridge has expressed a desire for Manual to compete on the same level as traditional Class 6-A powers St.Xavier and Trinity, and Lucas is looking forward to the challenge.

“Any coach would be out of his mind if he went into a new job thinking he couldn't turn it around and move it to the next level,” said Lucas, adding that he plans to implement a West Coast offense and 4-3 defense. “It's going to take a collective effort, but there's no reason Manual shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as those powerhouses.”

Much like Lucas at Bryan Station, Patterson helped turn around the program at Shawnee. The Golden Eagles finished 6-5 in 2008 for their first winning season since 1970. Shawnee was 4-7 last season.

Patterson, 30, will inherit a Moore program that finished 3-8 last season and snapped an 18-game losing streak along the way.

“There's a lot of talent over there,” Patterson said of Moore. “I just felt like it was a better opportunity.”

Moore and Shawnee both compete in Class 3-A, District Three, meaning Patterson will have to coach against his former team next season.

“I'm not going to enjoy that,” he said. “I love my kids down at Shawnee. It's going to be unusual to play them, but they know I care for them.”

Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046.

Source: http://www.courier-journal.com