[19] He later served as an assistant coach under Flaherty with the New York Yankees professional football team,[20] then taught at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach for ten years in the 1950s.

[20] On April 27, 1960, the University of San Diego announced it had signed Pecarovich to a two-year contract as its head football coach.

[23] He also used his oration skills during halftime pep talks, and people who knew both men compared him to Knute Rockne, who had been a famed motivator as the Notre Dame coach.

[22] Pecarovich died of a heart attack on March 22, 1965, in his home in Rolling Hills, California,[24] and was buried at All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach.

He was the namesake for Pecarovich Field at Gonzaga, a $25,000 baseball venue which opened in 1967;[25][26][27] it was renamed August/ART Stadium in 1996 and razed in 2003 to construct the McCarthey Center.