COACH RAM

Charlie Ramirez, longtime coach for one of California’s most successful high school football programs who has won 84 percent of his games and captured three North Coast Section (NCS) Division 1 championships in three years, was named head coach of the Pittsburg High School football team prior to the 2023 season.

“This has been 20 years in the making,” Ramirez told the Bay Area News Group. “It couldn’t feel any better. Being an alum, being in the Pittsburg football Hall of Fame, seeing my son excel at Pittsburg, being the defensive coordinator and then to ascend to this position, man, I couldn’t be any happier. It’s a dream come true. This is fantastic.”

In just three seasons, Ramirez has already established himself as one of the most successful head coaches in the 102-year history of Pittsburg Football. Under his direction, the Pirates have captured three NCS titles, reached three California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Northern California championship games, gone a perfect 15-0 in Bay Valley Athletic League play and played in one CIF state championship contest.

In addition to success on the field, Ramirez has also established college preparedness as a main focus of Pittsburg’s program, and that mindset has already made an impact when it comes to matriculating Pittsburg student-athletes to the next level. In his three years as head coach, the Pirates have sent several athletes to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, including 2026 graduates R.J. Mosley (Arizona), Truly Bell (Fresno State) and Japheth Tofaeono (Sacramento State). 2025 grads Jewelous Walls (UCLA) and Jamar Searcy (Wake Forest) saw playing time as true freshmen, and additional Pirates remain active at the FBS, FCS, NAIA and Junior College levels.

Prior to being hired as head coach ahead of the 2023 campaign, Ramirez spent 10 seasons as Pittsburg’s varsity defensive coordinator, with his defenses earning recognition throughout the region for their fast and physical style of play. He joined the Pittsburg High coaching staff as a freshman coach in 2001, and before ascending to the high school level, Ramirez began his coaching career on the youth level in Pittsburg.

A commitment to community runs well beyond Pirate Stadium for Coach Ramirez. He currently serves as a World History teacher at Pittsburg High and has previously filled the role of Dean of Students. He is a 1994 graduate of Pittsburg High School and a member of the school’s Football Hall of Fame thanks to a playing career in which he was a three-year starter at linebacker, two-time all-league selection and an all-region choice by multiple publications his senior year. He was a sophomore starter on Pittsburg’s legendary 1991 team that still stands as the last North Coast Section team to defeat De La Salle.

Coach Ramirez is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Social Science. He is also the owner of three Associate of Arts degrees, and a proud father to a pair of former Division 1 athletes, Ali (East Carolina Softball) and Charlie Jr. (San Jose State Football).