'Iolani has hired former Saint Louis football coach Delbert Tengan as its new defensive coordinator.

After weeks of speculation, Raiders coach Wendell Look confirmed the hiring yesterday afternoon.

“;It's a good fit for us,”; Look said. “;Delbert is a good guy who has his priorities straight. He is going to bring a lot to our program. Our kids are going to benefit from his knowledge and experience.”;

Tengan spent more than 20 years as an assistant and head coach at Saint Louis. He guided the Crusaders to a state title in 2002 during his first stint as head coach. During his second go-round, he was 22-2 in his last two seasons before being released in 2007.

Prior to that, he was a defensive backs coach, then defensive coordinator during Saint Louis' dynasty under then-coach Cal Lee, and was also the head basketball coach with current Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona as his assistant.

In recent months, Tengan applied for the Saint Louis athletic director position, but the job went to Ed Paola, a science teacher who has experience as an AD.

Tengan also was in contention for the vacant coaching position after John Hao was not retained, and was at one point offered the job. Tengan declined because by that time he had already given a commitment to 'Iolani; Look wanted him on board as a defensive coordinator.

Saint Louis eventually offered its head coaching job to Sam Papalii before rescinding the offer after an incident from his term as head coach at Kealakehe came to light.

The school hired former coach Darnell Arceneaux last weekend.

“;They didn't offer me the (Saint Louis) job until it was too late,”; said Tengan, who is a longtime teacher at the school. “;I owe it to Wendell and his staff. They waited for me. I'm going no matter what. Wendell had asked me back in December and held the position open for me. They encouraged me to apply for the (Saint Louis) AD job.”;

Look had already spoken with Tengan long before last winter.

“;We've always had a good relationship. When he was out of coaching for two years, I always kind of joked with him that, 'You're always welcome at 'Iolani.' I never thought it would happen,”; Look said. “;He's too good of a coach to not be coaching somewhere.”;

Despite early assurances from administration, Tengan will not be permitted to continue teaching at Saint Louis once he begins coaching at 'Iolani.

“;He would not have pursued this if he didn't feel he had the blessings of Saint Louis at the beginning,”; Look noted. “;I would never want him to jeopardize his tenure up there. He understood that. It speaks highly of him holding his commitment going by his word to me and 'Iolani School.

“;For him to give up 27, 28 years of teaching at one place, that's a lot to give up. Their loss is our gain. Hopefully, things happen for a reason. He's too good of a person not to find something.”;

Tengan, who recently completed his master's degree, will be out of a job after July.

“;I'm trusting God will find something for me. I'm taking a leap of faith. I don't have anything out there yet,”; he said.

At 'Iolani, Look has fielded teams that made up for a lack of size and depth. The Raiders have won three of the past four Division II state titles, and they've accumulated some upsets of D-I powers, including Saint Louis.

“;Delbert's always had solid schemes at Saint Louis,”; Look said. “;A lot of the stuff he does is similar to what we do scheme-wise. The thing he'll get used to is the size difference, the athletic ability.

“;Our players will understand his concepts and know what to do. It's a matter of them being physically able to do it. That's the part he'll know, not asking a 190-pound guy to hold two gaps. He knows he'll have to adjust to our personnel.”;

With Joel Lane as the offensive coordinator, 'Iolani has two coaches who turned down the head coaching position at Saint Louis. Tengan replaces Nat Tan, who retired from coaching to spend more time with family.

“;I'm pretty lucky, pretty lucky to have both of them,”; Look said. “;Replacing Nat, that was a big task in itself to find the right guy. If I had to fill two pukas, that would've been tremendous.”;