James Logan announces state champion as new head football coach

James Logan named a Bay Area staple as its next head football coach on Monday night. 

James Barnes, who won the 6-AA state title with St. Vincent De Paul as an assistant coach last season, takes over the Union City program.

The Oakland resident was the head coach at Castlemont from 2018-21, compiling a record of 5-20 in a league dominated by McClymonds. Barnes had also led programs at Arroyo and his alma mater Berkeley before then. 

“I’ve already been a coach for a few high schools in the East Bay over the past 15 years, and I took two years off to really hone in my coaching as an assistant,” Barnes, 45, told the Bay Area News Group . “After winning the state title, I kind of got that hunger and fight back to get out there as a head coach.” 

Barnes succeeds Eddie Smith, who stepped down in December. James Logan went 6-5 last season and won the league title by going 5-0 in MVAL/WACC Foothill Division play. 

Before starting his coaching career, Barnes played arena football from 2002-05. 

Barnes said a shorter commute factored into taking the job but added it was not the only reason. 

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“The size, the resources, and having three levels and being able to build up from our freshman to our JV to our varsity program,” Barnes said. “I didn’t really have the opportunity to coach a program with numbers like this outside of Berkeley a few years ago. So this is a great opportunity.”

James Logan made the North Coast Section playoffs in each of Smith’s three seasons with the Mustangs. Barnes said he is looking to build on what Smith had built, rather than completely changing the program. 

“I’m coming in to piggyback of what he’s done,” Barnes said, “and add onto that using my experience coaching from what I’ve learned from coach Trent (Herzog at SVDP) and the coaching tree I’ve learned and grown under.”