Who We Are

Mission Statement.

Since 2012, the SoCal Coyotes non-profit sports leadership organization scalable model has become the national standard for professional developmental football. This footprint was built on industry-leading commitment, vision and initiatives. Now the fastest-growing sports brand in Coachella Valley history, the year-round SoCal Coyotes have no peers, and their impact is unprecedented.

The Coyotes enjoy a broad array of powerful corporate partners, including the City of Indio – home to nearby Coachella, the nation’s largest outdoor music festival. Indio Councilman Glenn Miller and California State Senator Melissa Melendez are among many vocal Coyote advocates. They are now among an army of followers, fans, community dignitaries and corporate partners who share the Coyotes’ vision of a year-round, multi-million-dollar, world-class sports complex and youth development mecca. As our national spotlight gets brighter, our wish is to keep this attention focused on a Coachella Valley that offers hope, promise, and intrinsic value for every child raised in its corridor.

The six-time champion Coyotes accomplish their annual goals through the platform of developmental professional football. Coyote executive leadership is stocked with NFL wisdom, including legends such as Tom Flores, Jim Mora and Brad Budde. Revered NFL agent and sports attorney Jack Mills serves as counsel.

More than 1,ooo young players have matured through the Coyote program, with many advancing to camps in the National Football League, Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League.

Alumni include Jeremy Lane, who won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks, Kentucky Christian University Head Coach Jacob Russell, and Arena Football MVP Jarrod Harrington.

Dozens now live in and around the Coachella Valley and surrounding Riverside County, supporting and raising families, earning gainful incomes, and lead their schools, churches and communities.

On July 7, 2014, TheFootballEducator.com, led by two-time Super Bowl winner and former Denver Broncos GM Ted Sundquist, named the SoCal Coyotes “America’s #1 Developmental Pro Football Program.”

Defend the Shield: Faith, Family, Football.

The Coyotes organization places a priority on faith, fatherhood and family values, and was recognized in September 2013 by the Desert Christian News for “Building Champions, Building Men.”

Their logo depicts a snarling Coyote who viciously ‘Defends the Shield,’ which represents Faith, Family and Football.

Coyote players are frequent speakers and volunteers in local schools, businesses, churches and charities.

Among football teams, the Coyotes challenge their players to “lead the nation” in prayer, as well as wins. Coyote mentors apply faith-based initiatives in their lives and homes, and encourage them daily to be better fathers, better husbands, better men.

“We have yet to meet a young man whose life is ruined because he prays too much,” says head coach J David Miller.

A Brief History.

Since 2012, the SoCal Coyotes have been a ‘conveyor belt to manhood,’ impacting the epidemic of absent fathers by mentoring, equipping and navigating young men. The Coyotes were founded for the two-fold purpose of a developmental professional football platform that also addressed the Coachella Valley’s vacuum for positive male role models, reliable fathers and father figures, and employable young males who are strong community servants and leaders.

More than 500,000 Coachella Valley middle school, high school and at-risk youth have participated in Coyote Leadership clinics and learned from our curriculum.

Services We Provide.

Coyote Leadership Programs are blueprints for attainable progress that provide schools, communities and organizations measurable results. Other services range from educational classes, employment programs, motivational leadership symposiums, coaching clinics and intramural football.

The Coyotes Head of Household Work Leadership program (HOWL) trains players in demonstrable skills that produce sustainable incomes, and matches them with employment opportunities. The Partners United Parents program (PUP) trains young fathers to co-parent with disciplined skills as dads and/or husbands.

Who Else Benefits From The SoCal Coyotes.

On the field, 70 players annually earn the distinction of ‘Defending the Shield’ in the uniform of the SoCal Coyotes. Many will graduate each year into professional football or local careers. The Coyotes raise funds and donate thousands of dollars annually that affect every desert community. Coyote programs reach thousands of youth through coordinated efforts with numerous local charitable and civic organizations, including Boys & Girls Clubs,  the YMCA, the Desert Strength Academy, the Boys & Girl Scouts of America, and Rotary International.

Annual SoCal Coyote Events.

The Coyotes play a full season of professional developmental football each year. Coyote events are often used to raise significant financial support for area schools, sports programs and non-profits.  Off the field, the Coyotes host an area middle school leadership event at least once a month during each calendar school year.

The Coyotes host secondary achievement events at each of these schools. The Coyotes host a tryout camp each February that attracts 200 local youth. The Coyotes host two annual kids camps, in February and August. The Coyotes host an annual public middle school track meet in March, with 2,000 participants.

The Coyotes offer their fans a “Bill of Rights,” which ensures “a wholesome environment for guests and family and an affordable, first-class entertainment experience.”

Head Coach J David Miller.

J David Miller has a career record of 154-27 (.848 winning percentage) and is 106-16 with the SoCal Coyotes.

Coach Miller is a AAA Hall of Fame coach, best-selling author and award-winning marketing and communications strategist. In spring 2015, Miller was named APFL Coach of the Year by his peers; then LCFL Coach of the Year again in fall 2015. In 2013 he was named Southern California Football Alliance Offensive Coach of the Year. In 2012, national news sources selected him as AAA National Coach of the Year.

He has led the Coyotes to three undefeated seasons, nine consecutive bowl / playoff appearances, six league titles, and a national champion runner-up. Coach Miller has experience at every level of football, and his teams have never missed the postseason.

The AAA Football Hall of Fame made Miller a unanimous ‘Class of 2013’ inductee for his “ongoing 30-year contribution to the sport as an author, administrator and coach.”

Coach Miller has authored 13 books, including collaborations with NFL Hall of Fame and Super Bowl winner head coach Hank Stram, NFL head coach Jerry Glanville, legendary University of Hawaii head coach June Jones, and current University of South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner.

To hear Coach Miller address his players in the locker room, click here.

Mouse Davis, Run ‘n’ Shoot Silver Stretch, with Hawaii Roots.

Coach Miller is quick to credit his success to his mentors, and clearly draws from their experience. His two greatest influences have been Darrel “Mouse” Davis and June Jones, both notable NFL and NCAA history-shapers. Davis, the godfather of the Run ‘n’ Shoot offense, is credited for revolutionizing the game with what is now the modern spread offense. Miller and the Coyotes have unleashed their vaunted Run ‘n’ Shoot attack to lead six different leagues in total offense.

Jones, the former NFL and SMU head coach, worked with Coach Miller on Hawaii Warrior Football: A Story of Faith, Hope and Redemption. The best-selling book details how Jones transformed the nation’s dead-last NCAA program into a perennial powerhouse. Under Jones, Hawaii enjoyed a decade of unprecedented success never before or since seen, and the book rocketed to the ‘most authoritative and significant book’ in UH football history. Four-time Super Bowl winner and former Washington Redskins GM Bobby Beathard calls Hawaii Warrior Football  “required reading for building a winning program,” and the Coyotes use it as a template for the entire organization.

Offensively, the Coyotes are adamant to remain a “pure” Run ‘n’ Shoot team, based strictly on the disciplines and concepts of Davis, whose theories date back to 1962. Davis is a frequent consultant and influence to the Coyotes, personally authored the Coyote playbook, and visits their sidelines, camps and locker rooms.

The Coyote Mobile ‘YAPP’.

The Coyotes were among the first professional football programs at any level to provide a mobile application. It provides Coyote fans around the world up-to-date news, statistics, roster information and much more. The team also uses it to audio-stream games live online and offer downloadable  videos. Sponsors have access to push-notify fans with coupons, discounts, and loyalty rewards. The Coyote Mobile ‘Yapp’ is available free on iTunes Store or Android Market.

SoCal Coyotes Fast Tracks.

-Nicknamed “The Pride of the Desert,” the six-time champion SoCal Coyotes are the oldest pro football franchise in the Coachella Valley and have won more games in their first 11 seasons of play than any football team at any level in desert history.

-The Coyotes are committed to “changing the culture” of developmental professional football through player mentoring and development, organizational management and dynamic service to their community.

-The Coyote Leadership curriculum and their widespread volunteer efforts now daily impact churches, schools, civic organizations and communities throughout Southern California.