When he picked up his oldest son R.J. from elementary school Tuesday, Ramon Chinyoung handed him a Denver Broncos hat. That’s when it all hit Chinyoung, who will resign Friday as head football coach/athletic coordinator at Willowridge High to take a coaching position with the Denver Broncos.
“To see the joy and excitement in his eyes … it hit me with something special how excited he was,” Chinyoung said.
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It wasn’t long ago when R.J. used to confuse the logo of Westfield High School, Chinyoung’s alma mater and previous coaching stop, with that of the Broncos.
“I always told people my daddy coaches for an NFL team,” R.J. told his father on Thursday. “And now, today, now you do coach the Denver Broncos.”
“That, for me, is when it sunk in,” Chinyoung said.
Chinyoung, 33, will serve as quality control coach for the Broncos, specifically assisting offensive line coach Butch Berry. Some of Chinyoung’s responsibilities will include drawing run cards, running the scout team, and building relationships with young players to help them learn the systems of new head coach Nathaniel Hackett as easily and quickly as possible.
“Texas high school football teaches you to have a high expectation of success and standard,” said Chinyoung, who spent 2012-2019 coaching the offensive line and later being assistant head coach at Westfield before taking over Willowridge prior to the 2020 season. “Because of that, I walked into that (Broncos interview) with confidence. The level of competition out here is so strenuous and to another level to where it was another day at the office, as far as competing on the white board, competing to get your point across, competing to say that I feel I have the best idea and plan for kids to be successful. These kids now just so happen to be grown men. That’s the only difference.”
Broncos offensive coordinator Justin Outten, who worked with Chinyoung from 2012-2016 at Westfield when Outten was the offensive line coach and Chinyoung was the assistant, initially extended the opportunity for Chinyoung to interview with the Broncos 12 days ago.
“It has nothing to do with Denver and everything to do with relationships that were built prior,” Chinyoung said. “In life, you’re privy to work with people who are able to advance in their careers, and if you build quality relationships and do right by people, if you’re doing the best to be the best you can be, if the opportunity ever presents itself, then they’ll try their best to bring you along.”
Ramon Chinyoung.Randall Clark Photography
Chinyoung said the move was a no-brainer. But what he accomplished at Willowridge was admirable. He had helped install a culture of winning and success during his short time with the Eagles, going 11-8 and making the playoffs in 2020.
“My wife (Morgan) is a head volleyball coach (at Klein Oak),” Chinyoung said. “Her father was a coach of Texas high school football for 39 years. Her grandfather was a coach of Texas high school football and at Prairie View for 40 years. Coaching in my family is an expectation. There’s nothing higher in football than the National Football League, so of course I’m going to jump on that opportunity.”
Chinyoung will report to Denver on Monday morning. Morgan and their two kids will finish the school year in Houston before heading to Denver around the beginning of June.
Willowridge associate head coach Javid Milton will be the interim head coach for the Eagles.
“I’m so grateful, so thankful, so appreciative,” Chinyoung said. “Grateful for guys like Corby Meekins (tight ends coach at the University of Houston), who was my high school head football coach and gave me my first job in coaching. Appreciative of guys like Coach Javid Milton, who I’ve worked so closely with my entire coaching career. That’s my guy, and I wish him the best and I hope I’ve provided him with everything he needs to be successful as a Texas high school football coach.”