Sheldon Cross poses with three of his players at 2022 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Cal Poly Football Hires Sheldon Cross as Offensive Coordinator
1/18/2023 12:32:00 PM | Football
Share:
Share:
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- New Cal Poly head football coach Paul Wulff has reached out to a former graduate assistant coach from his days at Washington State to fill a spot on his coaching staff.
Sheldon Cross, a highly successful head coach at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Wash., a few miles south of Seattle, who has experience as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Idaho State, New Mexico Highlands and Iowa Wesleyan, has been hired as Cal Poly's offensive coordinator.
"I am very excited to add Sheldon Cross to our coaching staff as offensive coordinator," said Wulff. "I have worked with Sheldon in the past and have known him for a long time.
"He has a tremendous amount of respect out there with former players and coaches with whom he has worked," Wulff added. "His results have been outstanding. He approaches offense with an aggressive mindset, which fits what we are doing and want to continue to do moving forward."
Sheldon Cross celebrates a win at Kennedy Catholic High School.
Cross's accomplishments include coaching on an Idaho State offensive staff that produced Walter Payton Award finalist, quarterback Justin Arias, to a 4,000-yard season passing in 2014, assisting Illinois State as tight ends and H-Backs coach to an FCS playoff berth and a 9-4 mark, and coaching Interlake and Kennedy Catholic high schools to six Washington state playoff berths and 71 wins in 10 seasons combined.
"Every day, I haven't stopped thinking about if the right fit would come," Cross told Todd Milles of scorebooklive.com. "And with Coach Wulff, it was an easy no-brainer for me to go work for him again."
Cross also told the Tacoma News Tribune, "I'm really excited to work for someone that I believe in and do everything that I can to help him and the Cal Poly program win football games.
"It's a great opportunity," Cross added. "It's a really, really big-time university. It's a beautiful area. After seven years of wonderful memories and things I'll never forget at Kennedy, I felt this was a good time to get back into college football and go work with someone that I've known and I'm friends with and I trust. I think it's the right time, and I'm excited about it."
Cross guided Kennedy Catholic to four consecutive Class 4A North Puget Sound League titles and a 36-6 record over those four seasons. He compiled 55 wins in seven seasons (2016-22) at the helm of the Lancers with 30 graduates going on to play college football.
Kennedy Catholic was runner-up in the Washington state Class 4A playoffs this fall and Cross was named SBLive Washington state coach of the year in Class 4A. Cross' offense averaged 42 points per game, passed for 21,585 yards and scored 250 touchdowns in seven seasons at Kennedy and he guided quarterback Sam Huard in setting the Washington state all-time career passing record of 13,214 yards.
Cross served as offensive coordinator for the West squad in the 2022 All-American Bowl, played last January in San Antonio, Texas, which the West won. The West offense scored 34 points and finished with 450 yards of offense. West quarterback Cade Klubnik was named MVP of the game.
Before returning to his home state in 2016, Cross was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Idaho State from 2013-15, tight ends and H-Backs coach at Illinois State in 2012 and offensive coordinator at New Mexico Highlands in 2011. He was an offensive graduate assistant of Wulff at Washington State in 2010, working with the tight ends and H-Backs for the Cougars and assisting the offensive coordinator with all aspects of the passing game.
In his three seasons at Idaho State, Cross played a vital role in the Bengals' record-breaking offense. Cross, who served as the outside wide receivers coach his first two seasons, guided the 2014 offense to a school-record 64 touchdowns and broke the single-season rushing record with 2,567 yards. Arias threw for 4,076 yards and 38 touchdowns on 318 completions.
At Illinois State, Cross helped guide the Redbirds to an FCS playoff appearance and a 9-4 record. The Redbirds' offensive unit led the Missouri Valley Football Conference in passing and total offense, averaging better than 30 points a game.
During his three-year head coaching stint (2007-09) at Interlake High School in Bellevue, Wash., Cross mentored the Saints to a 16-18 mark, earning state playoff berths in 2008 and 2009, and was named Kingco Conference Coach of the Year in 2009. The back-to-back trips to state playoffs were the first two for the school in 22 years.
Cross is a graduate of Stadium High School in Tacoma, Wash., where he was a quarterback. He also called signals for two years at Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and, after earning his bachelor's degree in psychology from Peru State College in Nebraska in 2004, served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan in 2005 and as an assistant at Interlake in 2006.
The position group to which Cross will be assigned will be determined once all vacancies on the Cal Poly coaching staff are filled.
Cross and his wife, Catherine, have one son, Wyatt and a daughter, Stella.
Coach Wulff Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)Coach Wulff Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)
Sunday, September 14
Michael Briscoe & Mikey D'Amato Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)Michael Briscoe & Mikey D'Amato Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)
Sunday, September 14
Cal Poly vs. Western Oregon, Football Highlights -- Sep 13th, 2025Cal Poly vs. Western Oregon, Football Highlights -- Sep 13th, 2025
Sunday, September 14
Cal Poly football players get a sneak peek at the construction of the John Madden Football CenterCal Poly football players get a sneak peek at the construction of the John Madden Football Center
