Dylen Smith,  Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, QBs

Coach Smith began his football playing career at Santa Monica High School and then played for Santa Monica College. He was recruited to play quarterback at the University of Kansas from 1999-2000. His coaching career began with stints at Samo, Malibu High and most recently Brentwood, where he served as their Varsity Offensive Coordinator, QB Coach and JV Head Coach from 2015 to 2022. He is an elementary school PE teacher and holds a B.S in Criminal Justice. He currently lives in Santa Monica with his two sons Draiden and Donnan.

Ray Marsden, Coaching Staff
Coach Marsden, originally from Boston, received his BA/MA in Sport Pedagogy from the University of Connecticut. He is a PE teacher at Pali and has been Head JV Head Coach twice, 2009-2010 and since 2013. Marsden guided the JV Boys to the Western League title in 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017 (where his team went undefeated), 2018, and 2019. He was also the Head Girls Softball Coach at Palisades for 4 years, leading them to Pali’s first-ever league championship in 2011, and again in 2012. Currently he is the JV Head Softball Coach and Varsity Assistant Softball Coach. Prior to Palisades, Marsden taught PE at Paul Revere Middle School for 8 years and coached football and baseball at Santa Monica High School. His favorite team is the New England Patriots.

Jeremy Read,  Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers and Special Teams Coach

Coach Read has been a member of the Pali coaching staff since 2018. He has been promoted to Defensive Coordinator while still coaching linebackers and special teams. Read was born in Chicago and grew up in San Diego. He attended Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego where he played both offensive line and linebacker earning all-league selection both his junior and senior year. After high school, he won 3 Big Ten titles and went to 2 Rose Bowls as a walk-on linebacker at the University of Michigan under Head Coach Lloyd Carr, earning a scholarship in his final year. He works in finance and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Joanna, son Griffin and daughter Zoe.

LeHenry Solomon, Wide Receivers Coach

Coach Solomon has over 18 years of coaching experience from youth through high school. He has coached various positions and was the JV Defensive Coordinator at Salesian High School. LeHenry’s work with student-athletes continues off the field as he has developed various programs to support academic and socio-emotional growth and success. He has worked with both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers as a coach in their camps supporting physical activity through the NFL’s Play60 program. LeHenry also has given trainings to coaches at the youth and high school level regarding trauma-informed coaching strategies.

Moosa McLean, Offensive Line Coach

Bio coming soon

Additional Coaching Staff, Titles TBD

Bio Coming Soon

Christian Featherstone, Title TBD

Bio Coming soon

Rocky Montz, Athletic Director

Before being named Athletic Director at PCHS in 2022, Coach Montz served as Offensive Coordinator for the Dolphins from 2013-2017 and 2021 – 2022. During his coaching career, including 10 years at Pali High, he also coached at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, CT, Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA, and most recently at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. Coach Montz attended Trinity College in Hartford, CT, graduating in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion. In May 2009, he completed a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Southern California.

A.J. Jackson, Defensive Backs Coach

Coach Jackson played football for Hastings College in Nebraska, Mesa State College in Grand Junction Colorado and completed his college career as Strong Safety at New Mexico State University. After college, he stayed in New Mexico to coach DBs at Del Norte High School and Sandia High School. In California, he coached DBs at South Torrance High School and West Torrance High School before joining the Dolphins in 2022. He is married to Noelle and has a son named Aven.

Kelly Loftus, Junior Varsity Defensive Coordinator, Line Coach

Loftus, aka Dean Loftus, wears two hats at Pali as Dean of Students and a member of the coaching staff. He is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a graduate of Western Michigan University and received his Masters from National University. He has decades of high school and college experience.

Joe Spector, Life Experience Coach

A lifelong member of Pali’s community, Joe was officially approved by LAUSD as Pali High’s Life Experience Coach in 2011. In 1987, Joe first organized the varsity pre-game dinners, and since then, has taken thousands of players to Gladstone’s for the traditional home game meal. Each year our team MVP is given the Joe Spector Award, presented to the one varsity player who is outstanding on the field, and exemplifies the values of Pali High football, including loyalty, discipline and perseverance. Joe believes that “Quitters Never Win, and Winners Never Quit!”