Heisman candidate Sean Mannion and his Silverton High School football dad John make good on tough decisions

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do. — Elbert Hubbard, writer, philosopher

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

How we respond to our choices — especially the tough ones — is what largely defines us, Silverton (Ore) football coach John Mannion says. It carves the path for our lives and determines its quality and depth.

This is a lesson the 45-year-old history teacher and coach has passed on to pupils over the past 20-plus years, and his four children, the oldest of whom is Sean Mannion, the Oregon State junior quarterback who is racking up passing yards by the bushels.

It's hard to imagine a richer time for either father, who in less than four seasons has helped turn a mediocre program into a 5A state power, or son, who has suddenly somersaulted into Heisman Trophy discussions and onto the radar screens of NFL scouts.

How each ended up at this point — an hour apart in the Beaver State — is the result of bold decisions to leave the Bay Area city of Pleasanton, Calif., while immersing themselves in the family's long-standing, unglamorous, methodical work ethic. 

All of it has led Sean to a national-best 2,992 passing yards in seven games, including four straight 400-plus outputs, and 29 touchdowns — six more than anyone else in Division I-A college football. 

His size of 6-foot-5 and 220-pounds, arm strength and quick release, combined with an extremely level head are  extremely attractive to pro scouts. The Beavers' 6-1 record and No. 25 BCS standing give him extra Heisman juice as well.

"When you look at his numbers, he should be in every (award) conversation," Oregon State coach Mike Riley told Oregonlive.com. "He's playing really good football, which is a sign of preparation and talent meeting one another. He made a lot of throws with a lot of heat (Saturday), and I'm really proud of him for that."

But the ultimate reason for Sean's sudden national rise and gaudy numbers is how he's improved at dealing with the heat — his decision-making during those times.

Yes, he earned freshman All-American honors as a redshirt freshman in 2011 and he entered 2013 with 5,774 career passing yards — already fifth on the OSU charts — and 31 touchdowns. But he also threw 31 interceptions in that span.

This season he's thrown a mere three interceptions. A 29-3 ratio has earned him mega Heisman buzz, not that he necessarily wants it. 

"He's not forcing things," said his Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.) high school coach Matt Sweeney, who has watched Sean develop since he was the Falcons' ball boy. "He's always had talent, always had a hose. He's no prima donna and never had an ounce of entitlement. He was our hardest worker and he's outworked everyone to be in this position. But the final straw for him to make it at this level and the next was good decision-making."

While reading blitzes and coverages with 300-pound linemen chasing you can be complex and harrowing, uprooting a family of five demands a few more life skills - and his father has shown he can handle that.

Shangri-La in Silverton

John, a 13-year Foothill teacher and defensive coordinator, and his wife Inga had to navigate moving Sean's three younger siblings from the cozy, comfortable suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area to the rural regions of Northern Oregon.

John wasn't just following his son — a consideration to be sure — but at the age of 41, he was pursuing his own dream to build a high school football program with his own blueprint.

He found the family's Shangri-La in Silverton, a town of three stoplights and 10,000 residents in the outskirts of Salem, about an hour north of Corvallis, a healthy distance to give Sean his space.

Silverton (Ore.) offered John a school long in tradition but featuring a new contemporary campus and facilities. The football program struggled before he arrived, with a 25-36 record the previous six seasons combined, but the administration, community and student spirit was strong and enthusiastic.

Like the school itself before renovations, the football program just needed a boost, an upgrade, a new direction, but not window dressing.

Foundation and flooring was in order and John, who worked diligently side-by-side with Sweeney to build an overachieving Bay Area juggernaut, was the right man for the job.

Out of 20 candidates, John was the only one from California, and Silverton Athletic Director Greg Kaatz said he was a frontrunner from the start. Even though he had just one season of head coaching experience — Sweeney took the 2007 season off to follow his student-athlete daughters in college — Kaatz had a strong sense that John was ready to take command.

"He made you stand up and take notice," Kaatz said. "He was honest and sincere. He was a great candidate not only as a football coach but a teacher."

Once offered the job, the hard part for John followed: Saying goodbye to people and a place he and his family had connected deeply with. Sweeney wasn't just his coaching comrade, but he was his best friend, his teaching partner at school and fishing buddy.

Sweeney wrote a long and glowing, earnest but bittersweet letter of recommendation for John.

"The day John left was a huge loss for Foothill High School," Sweeney said.

Gut-wrenching choice

The Foothill athletic department has always prided itself on loyalty and community. They were jokingly referred to as the Pleasanton mafia and longtime Athletic Director Tom Hansen was known as the Godfather. Coaches like Randy Isaacs, Angelo Scavone, Dan Sweeney, Carl Marsh and Jon Evans were more like brothers to John than workmates.

He was drawn to Foothill because it reminded him of his own closely knit family. John's three younger blood brothers, Mike, Tom and Jim, along with his parents, Jim and Peggy, all resided in the Bay Area, so packing up and high-tailing it 600 miles north was a painstaking process.

"It was pretty gut-wrenching," John said. "I mean this was a family decision and it had to be right for everyone. It wasn't so tough because of where we were going — everything felt right about that — but where we were leaving. We knew Silverton had so much to offer us. We just had to get there."

Fast forward four seasons and John's life decision and game management appears on par with that of Sean's on the field. 

The Foxes — yes Silverton's mascot — have gradually improved each season and are now a legitimate 5A state power.

After going 4-5 his first season, John guided the Foxes to records of 8-3, 12-1 and currently 7-1. They've won 19 of their last 21 and 27 of 31, and are currently No. 5 in the state according to the MaxPreps computer rankings.

The current squad has outscored opponents 310-52 and offers a nice blend of balance on offense led by senior running back Max Wilson (837 yards), junior quarterback Cole Chandler (781 yards passing, eight touchdowns, one interception) and junior receiver Logan Munson (26 catches, 412 yards).

The defense is an aggressive, swarming group and the special teams is a major strength as showed in a big 38-12 win over Crescent City Friday. Cort Martin returned punts of 65 and 58 yards for touchdowns.

All that balance and success is a product of hard work and attention to detail, said senior running back and linebacker Mathias Kuenzi, and is a reflection of their head coach and staff.

"He's been awesome," Kuenzi said. "I remember reading about coach in the paper before I got here and I was so excited to play because he seemed like a great coach and really disciplined and a great all-around guy. He's lived up to that and surpassed it. He puts in so much extra time. If he cares so much I think that makes us care and want to put in extra time as well." No city slicker

Time commitment from his players was one of John's biggest sticking points when he took over. His players weren't lazy — nothing could be farther from the truth — but their hard work was largely devoted to farming. 

This wasn't the suburbs with clean, wide sidewalks and tract homes and families with 8-to-5 schedules. This was country living with no Wal-Mart or retail shopping or grocery outlets. Hours for families here were largely regulated by the sun and Mother Nature.

It took John time to find a middle ground between making reasonable demands and a winning formula.

"Summer and spring workouts and year-round lifting and passing leagues were all a little foreign to the kids," he said. "Shifting the culture a little took some time. But the kids were immediately great. Fortunately they bought in right away."

Kaatz saw the challenges and immediately appreciated Mannion's efforts.

"Silverton is a stereotypical small conservative town," he said. "People are resistant to change here. They like the way things are. We have a number of folks in the community who went to school here and their parents went here and their kids now go here. It was a challenge to try to improve the standards."

But John spoke their language. He's a product of nothing but hard work and he communicates clearly and fairly. He didn't snap his fingers. He looked people in the eye and asked for commitments that he himself could keep. In short, he was no city slicker looking to make a quick fix.

Kaatz did his homework on Foothill and the blue-collar approach instilled by Sweeney, Mannion, Hansen and the like.

"I think everyone realized what he brought to the table," Kaatz said. "It wasn't flashy. But it was obvious John meant business. The guys knew he meant business and that he was here to change the culture in the weight room and the field. Fortunately the kids bought in. We're seeing the results. Two losses in two seasons is pretty good."

But John's persona — like any successful high school coach — transcends well beyond the football field and scoreboard.

Kaatz said Mannion is also an outstanding teacher and has him supervise two lunch periods because he is such a respected and popular figure on campus.

"He has a great relationship with all the students, not just football players," Kaatz said. "He can talk all the languages of teenagers and relate to all the activities. He's just good for kids."

Said Kuenzi: "He definitely comes across as intense but he's also real personable. We have a lot of little jokes and always have a good time. But we know when to be focused. It's a real good mix."

Shutting out the noise

The move has been a great mix for all of the Mannions.

John's oldest daughter Katie was a three-sport standout and all-state softball player at Silverton and is now a sophomore at Oregon State majoring in civil engineering.

Youngest daughter Megan is freshman class president at Silverton and in the volleyball program. Youngest son Brian is a fourth-grader and a ringer for Sean, "except Brian has wheels," Sweeney said. Inga, also in education, is a teacher in the district.

"It's all been good," John said. "Every day I feel stronger and better about the decision. People have been absolutely great and supportive to us. We're all doing great. We feel very lucky." And then there's Sean, who is currently at the pinnacle of his quarterbacking career. He has made this family move complete.

Sean definitely needed dad's support after hurting his knee last season and temporarily losing his starting job to more-than-capable Cody Vaz, who played every series but one in a season-ending 31-27 Alamo Bowl loss to Texas.

John, a quarterback himself at San Rafael (Calif.) High School and three-sport standout, is quite familiar with the tenuous status and nature of the position. In the age of social media, especially at the college level, the abuse and fickle attitudes can be brutal on both athlete and parent. 

That's why John and Inga hike to the top of every stadium to watch their son play, away from the fray and comments. Nothing literally can be heard behind them, so the noise is cut down by at least 50 percent.

Sean's play, as well as his humble nature, allows little negativity to filter through. But John rarely listens to the lofty praise or Heisman talk either. It's all about staying even-keel. Not too high or not too low with the Mannions.

"We had no illusions of stardom or that he would even start," John said. "We just wanted him have a full college experience here."

But John is a football coach. It's all about the team and all the intricate parts and details to make it work. Sean is simply a part of the mechanism. That said, make no mistake, he's proud of his son. But just not what most would assume makes him so.

For instance, all the record numbers Sean has put up have been sensational. But John focuses on the laborious journey Sean took to earn his job back over the spring and summer.

"He was highly motivated," John said. "He knew what he wanted and didn't flinch. I can honestly say he did everything humanly possible to prepare and win the job."

John's favorite moment of Sean's college career might also surprise. It wasn't a late game-winning pass play — and there's been plenty of those — or any of the four straight 400-yard passing games he's on.

It was a last-second defeat, in fact. An Oregon State placekicker missed a field goal on the last play of the game.

"Sean ran over and gave the kid a hug," John said. "That sort of trumps all the other stuff. That kind of told me he gets the whole thing."

No doubt

John comprehended the full significance of his family's move last weekend.

Following the big victory over Crescent Valley, he took a flight to the Bay Area Saturday morning and tailgated with more than 100 friends, family members and former neighbors from Kings Canyon Court. The old Foothill crew was back together again as well.

It was a cross between a family reunion and wedding, and slathered with barbecue sauce.

"It was great," John said. "I only wish I could have bottled up all that time and added eight more."

That night, they all watched Sean put on another terrific passing display, completing 35 of 45 passes for 481 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-17 victory at Cal. John spent some time with his son after the game and then Sunday made the journey back to Portland via air.

He got to the terminal four hours early so he could study Hudl video highlights and write up reports on Silverton's next opponent, South Albany. That night, he met with the Silverton coaches, went over the week's plan and arrived home in time to hug and kiss Inga, Megan and Brian.

It was a perfect weekend, other than the inability to bring back the 100 tailgaters with him to Silverton, including Sweeney, whose Foothill team is also 7-1. Like all the re-connections, all parties are left a little bittersweet.

"I'm very happy for John and his family," Sweeney said. "None of it surprises me. He's always going to outwork everyone and do all the things you need to be as a high school coach. ... But yes, of course I miss him. We did everything together for 13 years. But we're not done. We'll coach together again some day. I have no doubt."

But this is John's life now. It's a grand one. He's got a new set of loyal coaching pals, including former Silverton players he has coached. They engage in old Foothill traditions like gathering by a fire pit at Mannion's home after games while rehashing the action. .

His team plays disciplined, unselfish, to-the-whistle and by the book. Just like they did for him in Pleasanton. And sometimes Sean even attends their practice, sporting Oregon State black and orange — the same team colors as the Foxes.

"When Sean shows up, it really picks us up," Kuenzi said. "It's great to see him and his dad together. He doesn't really say it but you can tell coach is proud."

He'll be proud whether Sean makes it to the next level or not.

With the meat of Oregon State's schedule upcoming — including a home game against No. 8 Stanford Saturday and the Civil War at No. 2 Oregon on Nov. 29 — Sean will have ample opportunity to woo NFL scouts.

And if he continues to do that, he'll be faced with the choice of coming back for his senior season — he's scheduled to graduate this winter — or enter the NFL Draft.

"I think he and his family will have a big decision to make by the end of the season," Sweeney said. "I hope they have that tough decision."

Judging from their past, the Mannions will have a strong response.