The Times-Picayune, 12/1/22
CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. When Scott Fujita played linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, it was apparent he would go on to big things once his NFL career ended.
The adopted son of Japanese-American educators, Fujita was not your typical football player.
As a walk-on safety at California, he made himself into an all-conference linebacker and a fifth-round pick in the 2002 NFL draft. He also was an honor student who earned two degrees: a bachelor's in political science and a master's in education.
During his tenure with the Saints from 2006-09, he was a captain for the Super Bowl championship team and named the club's 2009 Man of the Year for his charitable endeavors. Teammates voted him as their player rep for the NFL Players Association, where he later was selected as a vice president on the executive committee.
It wasn't a question of whether Fujita would transition successfully to life in his post-playing career, but when? And in what capacity?
Few, even Fujita himself, envisioned he'd end up where he did, as the head of All Saints' Day School, a prestigious co-ed, K-through-8 school in this quiet ocean town in Monterey County.
"Never thought in a million years I'd be in this position," said Fujita, while sitting in his office just inside the front door of the 61-year-old institution.
But there he was Monday, looking very much in his element as he ducked his 6-foot-5 frame down the school's narrow hallways and roamed its sprawling 17-acre campus, which sits on a fertile patch of Carmel River bottom at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains.
He gushed about the new soccer field and running track being built behind the school with an adjacent organic garden, river pavilion and outdoor amphitheater.
He beamed at the interparochial athletic league banners that hang in the gym, commemorating the school's recent basketball, soccer and flag football titles.
And he swelled with pride when a visitor noticed the Rosa Parks history project from the school's second grade class.
"My favorite part of the day is every morning at the curb, welcoming the kids as they get out of the cars for drop-off, then going from there, right into morning assembly," Fujita said. "It feels like the whole community is rowing in the same direction."
Fujita is in his third year as the head of school, but he has been involved with the school in various capacities since his oldest daughters, twins Delilah and Isabell, enrolled there several years ago. He served on the school's board and became the athletic director in 2017-18. In January 2019, he was selected for his current position from a pool of 38 national candidates.
"When they asked me if I was interested in throwing my hat in the ring, my answer was, 'No, and hell no,' " Fujita joked. "I didn't think I was close to being professionally or emotionally prepared for something like that. But the more the process went along, the more it started to make sense."
That Fujita found his way to education is not surprising. His father, Rod, taught history and anthropology at Westlake and Thousand Oaks high schools in California for more than 30 years. His grandmother, Lillie, taught school at an internment camp near the Gila River in Arizona, where Rod was born.
Fujita thought he, too, might eventually become a teacher. He planned to get his teaching credential at some point in the future. But the opportunity to oversee the school his daughters attended and help improve its infrastructure and reverse a recent decline in enrollment was too intriguing to pass up.
The leadership skills Fujita exhibited as a star linebacker have transferred to his new career. Since he has taken the reigns, enrollment has climbed more than 55%, from 155 students to 245. He's also expanded the athletic program to include new cross country and track programs. He also resurrected the school's flag football team, which completed an unbeaten season a year ago.
"I came into a job like this in about as unconventional a way as possible, but I knew what my strengths and weaknesses were and what team I wanted to assemble," said Fujita, whose youngest daughter, Marlowe, is a fifth grader at the school. "I recognized what the challenges of the job were at the time and had a vision of how to resurrect things."
Coincidentally, All Saints' nickname is the Saints. Yet, Fujita rarely references his NFL playing days. He will leverage his celebrity when necessary, especially if it helps the school raise money for a new project or charity work, but he prefers to keep his NFL career on the down low.
His office walls feature his college diplomas, a yearly calendar, some local art and a collection of his favorite aphorisms such as "The best way out is always through" by Robert Frost, and "Do the best you can until you know better. And when you know better, do better" by Maya Angelou.
The only sports-related content is a corner locker, where he keeps his gym shoes, a pair of soccer cleats and a whistle for recess duty. There's also a framed, fake "Sports Illustrated" cover celebrating the school's flag football title in 2019: "FUJITA LEADS THE SAINTS TO AN UNDEFEATED SEASON: How the little school in the valley surprised everyone and came out on top their first season."
Located about 270 miles north of Fujita's childhood home in Oxnard, Carmel Valley is an outdoors mecca, where the popular pastimes are running, hiking and surfing. Football is largely an afterthought, which was part of the appeal when Fujita and wife Jaclyn relocated here after his 11-year playing career ended in 2012.
"This is a great place to raise a family," he said. "It's quiet and slower here, and my past life (as an NFL star) doesn't dictate how people perceive me now. I like the peace and solitude of being here."
Fujita said he tries to attend a Cal football game once a year but rarely has the time in his busy schedule to watch many Cal or Saints games on TV. He said he watched about a quarter of the Saints-49ers game on Sunday before other duties swept him away.
He still maintains close friendships with former teammates Steve Gleason and Eric Johnson, and he keeps track of the Saints through a text chain with former teammates that includes, among others, Reggie Bush, Jon Vilma, Scott Shanle and linebackers coach Joe Vitt.
"Every time we talk to each other we always say, 'We have to find a way to get together,' but it's hard, because everyone has families now and their time is limited," Fujita said.
Time is something Fujita has little of these days. His workdays begin on the computer at home at 3:30 a.m. each morning and often don't end until 5 or 6 p.m. in the afternoon.
But Fujita is loving every minute of his new gig and the daily challenges it presents.
"This is a special place," Fujita said. "I joke with the teachers all the time that every morning I get out of my truck and think, 'Holy, crap, what's the day going to bring, what am I going to learn today? I love that part of it. It's taken a lot of stars to align. But I've loved it, just dreaming and scheming and trying to find ways to get those stars to align."
When Scott Fujita is involved, the universe tends to find order, as the Saints both old and new can attest.
CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. When Scott Fujita played linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, it was apparent he would go on to big things once his NFL career ended.
The adopted son of Japanese-American educators, Fujita was not your typical football player.
As a walk-on safety at California, he made himself into an all-conference linebacker and a fifth-round pick in the 2002 NFL draft. He also was an honor student who earned two degrees: a bachelor's in political science and a master's in education.
During his tenure with the Saints from 2006-09, he was a captain for the Super Bowl championship team and named the club's 2009 Man of the Year for his charitable endeavors. Teammates voted him as their player rep for the NFL Players Association, where he later was selected as a vice president on the executive committee.
It wasn't a question of whether Fujita would transition successfully to life in his post-playing career, but when? And in what capacity?
Few, even Fujita himself, envisioned he'd end up where he did, as the head of All Saints' Day School, a prestigious co-ed, K-through-8 school in this quiet ocean town in Monterey County.
"Never thought in a million years I'd be in this position," said Fujita, while sitting in his office just inside the front door of the 61-year-old institution.
But there he was Monday, looking very much in his element as he ducked his 6-foot-5 frame down the school's narrow hallways and roamed its sprawling 17-acre campus, which sits on a fertile patch of Carmel River bottom at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains.
He gushed about the new soccer field and running track being built behind the school with an adjacent organic garden, river pavilion and outdoor amphitheater.
He beamed at the interparochial athletic league banners that hang in the gym, commemorating the school's recent basketball, soccer and flag football titles.
And he swelled with pride when a visitor noticed the Rosa Parks history project from the school's second grade class.
"My favorite part of the day is every morning at the curb, welcoming the kids as they get out of the cars for drop-off, then going from there, right into morning assembly," Fujita said. "It feels like the whole community is rowing in the same direction."
Fujita is in his third year as the head of school, but he has been involved with the school in various capacities since his oldest daughters, twins Delilah and Isabell, enrolled there several years ago. He served on the school's board and became the athletic director in 2017-18. In January 2019, he was selected for his current position from a pool of 38 national candidates.
"When they asked me if I was interested in throwing my hat in the ring, my answer was, 'No, and hell no,' " Fujita joked. "I didn't think I was close to being professionally or emotionally prepared for something like that. But the more the process went along, the more it started to make sense."
That Fujita found his way to education is not surprising. His father, Rod, taught history and anthropology at Westlake and Thousand Oaks high schools in California for more than 30 years. His grandmother, Lillie, taught school at an internment camp near the Gila River in Arizona, where Rod was born.
Fujita thought he, too, might eventually become a teacher. He planned to get his teaching credential at some point in the future. But the opportunity to oversee the school his daughters attended and help improve its infrastructure and reverse a recent decline in enrollment was too intriguing to pass up.
The leadership skills Fujita exhibited as a star linebacker have transferred to his new career. Since he has taken the reigns, enrollment has climbed more than 55%, from 155 students to 245. He's also expanded the athletic program to include new cross country and track programs. He also resurrected the school's flag football team, which completed an unbeaten season a year ago.
"I came into a job like this in about as unconventional a way as possible, but I knew what my strengths and weaknesses were and what team I wanted to assemble," said Fujita, whose youngest daughter, Marlowe, is a fifth grader at the school. "I recognized what the challenges of the job were at the time and had a vision of how to resurrect things."
Coincidentally, All Saints' nickname is the Saints. Yet, Fujita rarely references his NFL playing days. He will leverage his celebrity when necessary, especially if it helps the school raise money for a new project or charity work, but he prefers to keep his NFL career on the down low.
His office walls feature his college diplomas, a yearly calendar, some local art and a collection of his favorite aphorisms such as "The best way out is always through" by Robert Frost, and "Do the best you can until you know better. And when you know better, do better" by Maya Angelou.
The only sports-related content is a corner locker, where he keeps his gym shoes, a pair of soccer cleats and a whistle for recess duty. There's also a framed, fake "Sports Illustrated" cover celebrating the school's flag football title in 2019: "FUJITA LEADS THE SAINTS TO AN UNDEFEATED SEASON: How the little school in the valley surprised everyone and came out on top their first season."
Located about 270 miles north of Fujita's childhood home in Oxnard, Carmel Valley is an outdoors mecca, where the popular pastimes are running, hiking and surfing. Football is largely an afterthought, which was part of the appeal when Fujita and wife Jaclyn relocated here after his 11-year playing career ended in 2012.
"This is a great place to raise a family," he said. "It's quiet and slower here, and my past life (as an NFL star) doesn't dictate how people perceive me now. I like the peace and solitude of being here."
Fujita said he tries to attend a Cal football game once a year but rarely has the time in his busy schedule to watch many Cal or Saints games on TV. He said he watched about a quarter of the Saints-49ers game on Sunday before other duties swept him away.
He still maintains close friendships with former teammates Steve Gleason and Eric Johnson, and he keeps track of the Saints through a text chain with former teammates that includes, among others, Reggie Bush, Jon Vilma, Scott Shanle and linebackers coach Joe Vitt.
"Every time we talk to each other we always say, 'We have to find a way to get together,' but it's hard, because everyone has families now and their time is limited," Fujita said.
Time is something Fujita has little of these days. His workdays begin on the computer at home at 3:30 a.m. each morning and often don't end until 5 or 6 p.m. in the afternoon.
But Fujita is loving every minute of his new gig and the daily challenges it presents.
"This is a special place," Fujita said. "I joke with the teachers all the time that every morning I get out of my truck and think, 'Holy, crap, what's the day going to bring, what am I going to learn today? I love that part of it. It's taken a lot of stars to align. But I've loved it, just dreaming and scheming and trying to find ways to get those stars to align."
When Scott Fujita is involved, the universe tends to find order, as the Saints both old and new can attest.