The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
While they were at different ends of their long NFL careers, former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith and Hall of Famer Bryant Young spent three seasons as San Francisco 49ers teammates. Now, the two are back on the same sideline, this time as assistant coaches for a Bay Area private school.
At Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Smith and Young have joined the football coaching staff. Young is coaching the defensive linemen, and Smith the quarterbacks.
“An NFL Hall of Famer is pretty insane to have as your coach,” Saint Francis junior defensive lineman Parker Jacobs told SFGATE at a practice this week.
Or, in the case of Saint Francis head coach Greg Calcagno, one of your position coaches.
“When they explain some stuff, it’s pretty good and people listen. If you’re a high school kid, you better listen,” Calcagno told SFGATE. “... [Alex Smith is] a guy that’s played in so many different offenses that he’s become just so good at everything. He’ll say, ‘Here’s some stuff we did with Andy Reid,’ and I’ll think, ‘OK, well, that might be all right.’ He’s also really good at putting it in our terminology because he’s had the same play in 15 different offenses called different ways. He’s been great.”
Head coach Greg Calcagno talks to the team after practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Head coach Greg Calcagno talks to the team after practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
It’s the first time that Smith, the longtime quarterback who spent the first half of his 16-year NFL career with the 49ers before retiring after the 2020 season, has coached in the sport. While he still has a deep passion for football, he loves being a father of three kids (two sons and a daughter) and told SFGATE coaching at the high school level is the perfect “balance” between getting back in the sport and being a dad.
“Football had such a profound impact on my life, who I am as a person,” Smith said. “I think it’s the greatest team sport on the planet, and I feel like I have so much to give.”
Smith said he didn’t start playing football until high school and remembers the “freedom” that he felt playing at that age — before he turned into a top prospect, college star and top pick. Now, after a long NFL career, he’s enjoying the chance to give back to the sport he’s made a life in and all that comes with it.
“There’s obviously a lot to teach from an X’s and O’s standpoint and technique, but there’s a lot of life teaching moments, right?” Smith said. “I think that’s why we’re playing this. That’s certainly why, as a father, my kids play. There’s so many life lessons that you go through.”
While it’s Smith’s first foray into coaching, Young has been a defensive line coach for many years in his post-playing days. The 14-year 49ers stalwart who retired in 2007 coached at San Jose State in 2010, at SEC powerhouse Florida from 2011 to 2012, and for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons from 2017 to 2018. The 2022 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame also spent four years coaching at Charlotte Christian School — the same high school Steph Curry went to — while his son, Bryce, was there. (Bryce is now a junior at his dad’s alma mater, Notre Dame.)
Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers quaterback Alex Smith talks with the quarterbacks during practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers quaterback Alex Smith talks with the quarterbacks during practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
After Bryce graduated high school, the Young family moved back to the Bay Area and now has an athlete in the high school — his younger daughter Kamillie, currently a sophomore and already playing on St. Francis’ varsity volleyball team — prompting Young to return to coaching.
“There’s a level of responsibility that I feel like I have to be able to give something back to the younger generation,” Young told SFGATE.
Smith’s oldest son, Hudson, is also a sophomore and starts at quarterback for the Lancers’ JV football team. (He also played on the school’s freshman soccer team last year.)
Smith initially offered his help to Calcagno as a coach last year, but the Lancer coaching staff was already full. Once the season ended, though, the two ex-quarterbacks (Calcagno was a star at St. Francis and collegiately at Santa Clara) got together and started watching film in the offseason. When other coaches left the school, the two ex-49ers were obvious additions, and the role is offering Smith a chance to relive some of his first NFL memories, now that he’s back on the same sideline as Young.
“I’ll never forget the day that I met BY. I went into the weight room, and he was incline bench-pressing dumbbells, and each dumbbell was 200 pounds. I remember thinking, ‘Those dumbbells weigh as much as I do,’” Smith said, later quipping that the 54-year-old Young looks like he could still play in the NFL. “He’s just an amazing human being and teammate, and I learned so much from him.”
Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.Nate Griese poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.Quarterback Drew Cumby poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.Equipment on the field at Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Top left clockwise: The Saint Francis High School football team during practice; Parker Jacobs poses for a photo; equipment on the field at Saint Francis High School; quarterback Drew Cumby poses for a photo. Lance Yamamoto/SFGATE
Ever since the 49ers moved their team headquarters from Redwood City to Santa Clara in 1988, a large number of Niners players, coaches and executives have thrown down roots both in the South Bay and on the Peninsula. That has led to a steady stream of children of Niners coming to Saint Francis, including children of Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, former coaches Steve Mariucci and Mike Nolan, and 1980s fan favorite Bill Ring.
At present, 49ers CEO Al Guido’s daughter stars on the basketball team, but the ties are especially deep with football: Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s son Carter is a junior wide receiver; former quarterbacks coach Brian Griese’s son Nate is a senior defensive lineman; and Quentus Cumby, a longtime NFL scout who spent 11 years in the 49ers front office, is the father of Drew, the junior starting quarterback. Drew Cumby said he met Smith when he was a child through his father’s work but is now learning under the former Niners starter constantly.
“He’s a very good coach, very good at explaining stuff,” Cumby told SFGATE. “He teaches everybody he can — not just your certain position group — to make sure we’re on the same page with everybody. It’s helped me become a better communicator.”
As for Young’s coaching prowess, Jacobs said the ex-NFL star has helped his technique tremendously as a defensive lineman, breaking down the “smallest details” with unique insight from inside the lines. But there’s another element where Smith and Young are impacting the entire Lancers team that both Jacobs and Cumby feel daily.
Former 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young poses for a photo at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young coaches the players during practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
Former 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young coaches the players during practice at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
“I feel like our practices have more of a, like, professional aspect to it,” Jacobs said. “Our practices are more like what an NFL practice would be, with the speed of practicing 100% with every single rep we go. Our practices are a lot more crisp, and that’s a huge impact on the whole team, offense and defense.”
Cumby added, “I feel like you can probably make more mistakes, too, because they’re going to help you. It definitely increases the energy that I practice with. Anything I do, if I mess up slightly, they always have a great way to fix it and make it understandable for you.”
As both Smith and Young pointed out, the private Catholic school’s prestigious parent count stretches beyond football, too. They see that as a way to make high school a little easier for their children and not put as much of a spotlight on them because of who their dads are.
“You have a lot of kids that are here whose parents are doing amazing things outside of sports and entertainment, and who are very impactful in this world and working in Silicon Valley,” Young said. “We’re just, you know, a small piece to it.”
Smith added, “I think it’s nice for my son that he’s not the only one, and I think the way the school handles it is so nice.”
That presence not only makes seeing ex-49ers or current 49ers executives a common sight, but it’s brought current Niners stars to campus, too. Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Mac Jones and Trent Williams all came out to the Lancers’ season-opening game against Manteca High School.
That was Smith’s first game back on the sidelines, and he admitted that seeing those players — and especially Williams, his old teammate from Washington — got him wanting to “put on a show” for the Niners stars.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
The Saint Francis High School football team during practice in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026.
“What I try to implore to these kids is that it’s a ‘we’ thing, right? ‘I know I don’t get to step inside the white lines, but I’m invested in this, just like you. I’ve got to put you guys in good positions and teach you guys,’” Smith said.
Saint Francis won that night, 31-23, but went 1-2 against a tough non-league schedule. The Lancers begin play in the powerhouse West Catholic Athletic League on Friday against Riordan, the reigning WCAL champions.
Both Smith and Young do have other commitments they are juggling while coaching. Young went to Australia as a 49ers alumni to represent the team and missed a game; plus he still wants to be a dad and go see his son play at Notre Dame. Smith, meanwhile, is an ESPN analyst who does “Sunday NFL Countdown” in-studio on the East Coast and will often do the network’s morning shows on Mondays, too.
In Calcagno’s view, those occasional complications are completely worth accepting if it means having them around the program to coach, teach and be examples for the students.
“Both of those guys are better human beings and role models for our kids than they are football minds — and they’re very good football minds,” Calcagno said. “You put them in front of our kids and our families, and they are the example. That’s been the best part of it all.”