'Wish It Would Have Been Handled In A Better Way': Grant HS Moves On From Legendary Football Coach Mike Alberghini

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Legendary Grant High School football coach Mike Alberghini is speaking out after he says he's been forced out at a program he's been a part of for more than half a century.

As head coach, he's won more games than any coach in the history of the California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section. There is no doubt he is a legend. The question he has is why must his time end like this?

Alberghini spoke from the driveway of his home still processing what just happened after 53 years.

Grant High School's principal told Alberghini it was time for a new leader – that this was the right time for a transition and that he could stay with the program as a mentor.

It is a role he does not want.

"You don't strip a person of his stripes and then tell them to fight a good fight," Alberghini said.

Alberghini's legacy at Grant is cemented in the structure. The stadium is named after him. He's got his own street, too. He's coached thousands of students and earned the respect of this community.

Feeling pushed out was not in his playbook.

"I'm not happy. I'm not angry," he said. "I just wish it would have been handled in a better way."

Grant high school is planning several events to honor Coach Alberghini in the coming months. He said he is still trying to decide whether he will want to participate in any of them.