Hart football’s Rick Herrington is stable after heart transplant

Only a screenwriter could dream up a scenario where a football coach working at a high school named Hart needs a new heart to save his life.

It happened for Newhall Hart head coach Rick Herrington, who underwent a heart transplant at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Sunday and has been making strides since, according to his brother Dean, who is the head coach at St. Francis.

“He’s a bit sleepy,” Dean said Tuesday night. “He can talk. It’s going to be a long recovery, but he’s ready to reach for it.”

Rick, 63, has been in the hospital since early March while awaiting a match.

“The people at UCLA are great,” said Brother Mike, Hart’s former head coach, who has overseen the program in Rick’s absence. “Knock on wood, things are good. Hopefully he gets all his power and gets better every day.”

The Herringtons are a legendary family in the Santa Clarita Valley. They trained together at Hart when Mike was head coach, with Rick the defensive coordinator and Dean calling the plays.

Rick enjoys golf, but Dean won’t show any sympathy when they’re back on the course. When asked if Rick was going to hit him, Dean said, “Ah, no.”