Randolph-Macon's Pedro Arruza might be the best football coach you've never heard of - and he prefers it that way

Always on the lookout for a compelling tale to tell, we found one recently in the most unlikely place … little, old Ashland, Va., at little, old Randolph-Macon College … tucked away in the athletics office, where a living, breathing anomaly has called R-MC home for more than two decades.

The name is Pedro Arruza … which in itself is unusual. I mean, how many Pedros do you know who coach American football, much less do it so well, so successfully, for so long ... that you wonder why he’s still here?*

“That’s a very good question,” said R-MC athletic director Jeff Burns.

In search of an answer, we went to the source … with some trepidation because, at first, Arruza requested anything written not be about him but his team, specifically the players.

“He’s not comfortable when individuals are singled out,” said long-time athletic department spokesman Phil Stanton. “To him the whole team shares in the team’s success.”

Sorry, Pedro, but the focus will be on you … which could have resulted in a very short interview. Or no interview at all. He is a coach, after all, used to getting his own way.

Besides, this wasn’t the New York Times calling. Or a major network … prying into the life and times of Pedro Rafael Arruza, which, truth be known,  he could do without regardless of the exposure. But then, Arruza is not your typical Xs and Os, winning is not everything, it’s the ONLY thing coach. Far from it. Not even close.

“The least interesting thing about him might be the football,” Burns said.

Born in Madrid, Spain, the oldest of five brothers, Arruza moved with his family to London, England, then Mexico City, Mexico, and Miami, Fla., before settling (sort of) near West Palm Beach (which is still listed as his place of birth). Along the way his father killed himself.

“It’s tough growing up without a dad,” Arruza said. “Without going into too much detail … losing my dad when I was seven was hard … and my mom struggled a little bit after that … then I lost three of my brothers, two of them to drug overdoses and another one to suicide.”

That Arruza managed to keep from becoming a victim himself of such a hard-scrabble existence was a miracle, one he uses to teach his young, impressionable athletes certain values he hopes will stay with them long after their days of blocking and tackling … OK, forever.

“I grew up in a pretty challenging home environment,” Arruza said. “[But] I was very fortunate. There were two things that made a significant difference. One was my faith. I became a Christian when I was in eighth grade. And there was the impact coaches in my life had on me. That’s why I always wanted to be a coach, [because] I thought, ‘That’s something I'd like to do for somebody else.’”

Unquestionably, this 50-year-old is one of a kind. Arruza is humble. He cares about his players. He tells you he is not driven by money. He doesn’t think he has an ego (well, not much of one anyway). Family – wife Kara, two sons and a daughter – always comes first. 

What’s more, he believes God has a plan for him, that “everything happens for a reason.” In less than an hour, Arruza convinced this 80-something cynic he is for real.

“For him it’s about relationships with the guys. Mentoring,” said Kara Arruza. “Academics are really important to him. It’s not about prestige. It’s about the challenge. He’s just a super-driven person. He has a huge drive to succeed.”

In 21 years at Division III Randolph-Macon (student body of about 1,600), Pedro Arruza has compiled a record that should make him a most-wanted candidate for any school that cares about football excellence. All he’s done is win … after a terrible start of three straight losing seasons. Overall his teams have won 67.6 percent of their games (146-70).

In the past nine years, the Yellow Jackets are 53-6 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. They have claimed their last 25 ODAC games in a row. We would tell you Arruza has won six championships outright (including the last three) and shared three others  … which helps to explain seven coach of the year awards … but, given his druthers, he would prefer we didn’t single him out. So we won’t, except also to note ... 

Of the 240 NCAA DIII member schools, a total of 12 head football coaches  have been on the job as long – or longer – than Arruza … and only five have compiled a better winning percentage. That includes Mike Sirianni (188-45, 80.7) in his 22nd season at Washington & Jefferson, which will meet 9-1 R-MC in the second round of the NCAA playoffs Saturday at noon in Ashland.

A four-year starter at running back, Arruza was a two-time DIII All-American for coach J.R. Bishop at Wheaton (Ill.) College, like R-MC a small, liberal arts, Christian school. He was recruited, primarily, by members of the I-AA (now FCS) Ivy and Patriot leagues … after dreaming about playing for Joe Paterno at Penn State. If that didn’t work out, as a backup plan he would go to Notre Dame. “I had big, BIG dreams,” Arruza recalled.

In the end, he planned to attend Holy Cross, but took his final recruiting visit to Wheaton. His best friend from high school had gone there. “It was the last place I thought I would end up,” Arruza said.

At Wheaton, playing for Bishop, whom he describes as “one of the most humble people I have ever known … just a tremendous human being,” Arruza ran for a then-school-career-record 3,179 yards. (At 5-5, 190 pounds, “I was shorter than I was small.”)  In addition, he was a three-time academic All-American, majoring in English. Not bad for someone who didn’t speak the language when he first arrived on these shores.

“I always told everybody I was going to be a lawyer because that’s what my mother wanted me to be … and I thought it was more impressive to tell people I wanted to be an attorney … but I knew, I ALWAYS knew, I was going to coach,” Arruza said.

He graduated from Wheaton in 3 ½ years and, after some near-misses, like working as a graduate assistant with Sean Payton, then quarterbacks’ coach at Miami of Ohio, currently coach of the NFL's Denver Broncos, Arruza began his post-college career at a high school in Tennessee.

“I taught English … was an assistant coach in football and wrestling … and also coached middle school baseball. Not a whole lot of money, but a great experience,” Arruza said. “I loved it.”

Nine years – and stops at Butler, where he got a master's degree in English, and Washington of St. Louis – later, he decided to look into an opening that was available somewhere in the commonwealth of Virginia.

“When I applied, I was 30 years old … and didn’t know anybody here. Back then the internet was not what it is now. Information was minimal,” Arruza said. “But, I knew it was a small town … and I didn’t want to go somewhere I couldn’t see myself staying for at least a couple of years. I didn’t want to get caught up in the rat race of college coaching.

“I wanted to lay down some roots, build a program, raise a family … and not have to move my wife and kids around every year. I just wanted a place where there could be a little longevity.”

So, as always, he got input from his wife … “and I prayed about it,” Arruza said.

“I live my life by faith … and I believe God wanted me here. If He wants me here for the rest of my career, I’m good with that, too.”

Not that it has been all fun and games. The program was, quite frankly, in such disarray when he arrived that , "had I known then what I know now, I don’t think I would have taken the job."

“I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody, but there were just too many issues. I don’t think football was a priority here … and I didn’t think the things for a program to be successful were in place. I’ll leave it at that.”

Added Burns: “Just say there wasn’t a lot of discipline in the program. There were a lot of problems on campus with football players … certainly not the culture we have now. Another problem was, he was made to keep assistant coaches … and wasn’t able to have the full staff he wanted right away.”

Talk about a challenge. Obviously, the Good Lord took a liking to Arruza … but not before seasons of 3-7, 2-8 and 2-8. “I had been like a lot of young guys who think they can win anywhere … and the early years were really hard here.

“Before our fourth season … I remember laying in bed one night and telling my wife … ‘We gotta win this year, or they may decide to make a change.’ And she said, ‘Well, it is what it is … if we move, we move.’ We figured if it wasn’t meant to be here, we would do it somewhere else. Things happen for a reason. I firmly believe that.”

The Jackets finished 8-2, the first of 16 winning seasons, including the last nine, during which the overall record has been 81-14. They haven’t lost more than one game since going 9-2 in 2019.

So,  how close did Arruza come to being fired? He certainly believed he was a goner had things not improved in 2007.

“I don’t think he came close at all,” Burns said. “We saw the foundation he was building … and that it would take time. We knew we had the right person for the job.”

Arruza quite likely is the best coach most of the country has never heard of, much less knows and/or appreciates. 

Now, with son Owen, an R-MC linebacker in his last year of eligibility; son Will, a senior at Patrick Henry High; and daughter Ella Joy, on track to graduate in three years from Liberty U., this spring, maybe he will at least consider moving on to a higher profile, more lucrative program.

Arruza insisted he isn’t thinking about going elsewhere, never has, and “if I leave here … and I could … it won’t be because of the money. My wife is happy here … and I’m still trying to make the program better. I’m still super-motivated … with the same intensity and enthusiasm I came with 20 year ago … if not more.”

You don’t think Burns worries about losing Arruza, now, do you?

“I worry about it every day,” the AD said. “He could be a CEO, running a multi-million dollar company somewhere. His work ethic is tremendous … and he does everything the right way. My job is to work real hard to keep him here.”

* - There are 665 NCAA football-playing colleges and universities, and there is only one coach with the first name Pedro. Did he ever lose a recruit because he couldn’t take him seriously? I mean, how much can a Pedro know about American football?  “Sometimes I ask myself the same question,” Arruza said.