Carson High's Blair Roman walks through a drill at practice with the Senator football team. Roman decided to step down Wednesday after 14 years as head coach with Carson.
Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage
Carson High football coach Blair Roman confirmed Wednesday afternoon that he was resigning from the position after 14 years at the helm.
The veteran coach posted a record of 80-64, per MaxPreps, over his career with the Senators and was 43-33 in league/region games.
Starting in the fall of 2010, Roman helped put together a stretch of making five regional title games in a six-season span. The last regional final came in 2015 where the Senators fell to Reed.
During those six seasons, Carson posted a win-loss record of 52-18.
Under Roman’s leadership, over 50 players went on to compete at varying levels of collegiate football, from junior college to FBS Div. I.
Reminiscing through the years, Roman couldn’t pick out one game that truly stands out.
There were too many to pick from.
“To be honest with you, all of the Douglas games stand out whether we won or lost,” said Roman. “We had some battles over the years.”
There was a three-year stretch where Carson and Douglas came down to the final play of the game.
In 2015, a win over a highly touted Reno High in the regional semifinals was a program-defining moment for Roman and the Senators.
The journey to Carson
Roman himself is a Douglas High School graduate and the field in Minden in name in his father’s honor – Keith Roman Field.
His coaching career started at Butte College where he coached for four years before returning to Northern Nevada.
Roman was hired at Carson High as an assistant in 1994, working under then head coach Bob Bateman.
In 2001, Roman took over as the head coach at North Valleys until 2005 before returning to the Senators, eventually taking over as head coach in 2008.
“In retrospect, it was one of the best decisions I ever made for my coaching career. It just worked out so well,” said Roman.
The veteran head coach said it was ‘a little weird at first’ donning the blue and white as a Douglas grad.
Roman even had a chance to coach against his father while at Carson.
“I’ve always had that Douglas tie-in,” said Roman. “One of the things I’m very appreciative of, I was able to carve my own niche at Carson and that was something that motivated me here.”
In his final regular season game with Carson High football, the Senators bested Douglas, 17-15, on a game-winning field goal.
It’s not the only memorable field goal under Roman’s time as head coach.
In 2011, Austin Pacheco hit a 64-yard field goal to win a game over Bishop Manogue, which was longer than any NFL field goal at the time and the second longest kick in Nevada high school history.
The kick made it into TIME magazine.
Memories and relationships
The outpouring of support since his announcement has come from far and wide from personal messages to social media posts and others.
Even players he had at North Valleys have reached out to share what Roman meant to them.
“The relationships I’ve made with people. It’s been incredibly heartwarming in terms of congratulations from former players,” said Roman. “That’s by far the most gratifying thing and what I’m most proud of.”
Walking down memory lane, Roman had a number of moments that stood out over his multiple-decade career.
His voice halted as he found the words for his favorite.
“My fondest memory is my son catching a touchdown in Mackay Stadium his junior year,” said an emotional Roman. “That’s probably No. 1.”
On January 18, 2020 Roman lost his son, Jake, in a snowmobiling accident.
Continuing on for two more seasons in charge of Carson High football gave Roman a way to lean on his players in a time of need.
After a yearlong break from on-field play due to COVID-19, Roman said those were seasons he needed as much as anyone.
“After Jake passed away, coaching was something helped me get through it. In terms of my own healing process, I think my players have helped me as much as I’ve tried to help them,” said Roman. “I’m eternally grateful to everyone of them, in that regard. Part of it was my own personal desire to honor my son that way, but it’s time to honor him in different ways.”
The veteran coach says he’s looking forward to having time with family and friends that he has put on the backburner.
“I’m really looking forward to those type of things,” said Roman. “Just things I haven’t been able to do, but I don’t regret one bit of it.”
While Roman dealt with his own personal and family challenges, he made it a point to address the added work involved with coaching through two COVID seasons.
“Coaching during COVID feels like coaching three seasons. It’s taxing. I hope the general public and people that care about high school sports really understand the sacrifices coaches are making for kids to compete right now,” said Roman.
Roman will be retaining his duties at the high school as athletic director and expressed his fortune to continue to have a position within Carson High School.
“I look forward to continuing in that role for sure,” said Roman. “I’m incredibly fortunate and thankful for the career I’ve had.”
