SEASIDE — If the coach on the sidelines for the Gulls this fall looks familiar, he should be. When Jeff Roberts accepted the job of Seaside High School principal last year, he also gave up coaching the Seagulls varsity football team. Chad Smith, an assistant under Roberts, filled the role in the fall.

At Tuesday’s Seaside School District meeting, Roberts was named interim varsity head football coach for the Seagulls, replacing Smith, who is leaving the district for a teaching position in Douglas.

That puts Roberts back in the game as both principal and coach, at least on a short-term basis. “I anticipate seeing the season through,” Roberts said.

To fill the varsity head coach job on a permanent basis, the challenge is to find a candidate who can both fill a needed teaching position and skillfully coach a competitive 4A football team.

“I do believe we will bring somebody on staff in the next month that is a suitable replacement — with some tutelage — at the end of the year,” Roberts said.

While assistant principal, Roberts led the Gulls for 4 1/2 years. In 2013, the team finished 8-3, qualified for the state playoffs and won the first home playoff game in 20 years, Roberts said.

Will coaching duties clash with his duties as principal?

“I understand the dilemma that this presents,” Roberts said. “I understand my primary role and I can assure you that this will not impact the way I currently run the high school or the way I will run the high school in the future. This is not a long-term fix.”

The Gulls finished the 2016 season at 2-6, with an 0-5 record within the Cowapa League.

“We will be all right,” Roberts said. “Last year we were really young and that was a real challenge. Those kids got a lot of valuable time last year. They’ve matured, worked their tails off and got better in the offseason. I’m looking forward to a successful year.”

A graduate of Linfield College, Roberts received his master’s degree in teaching at Pacific University. He began his teaching career at Centennial High School in Portland and later taught at Sherwood High School.

Roberts, wife Nissa, and daughter McKenna live in Gearhart.

“I have 100 percent confidence in Mr. Roberts’ ability to do both jobs in an excellent way,” Superintendent Sheila Roley said after the meeting. “He has a very supportive staff, he’s very hard-working, knows what he’s doing and he’s supercommitted to our kids and our community. I have full confidence in his ability to do it.”