GLENDALE — A coach who led a Chandler high school football team to its first state title is among the 16 nominees for a national award.
Chris McDonald, whose second season running the Basha High football program ended with the Bears winning the Open Division championship, is the Arizona Cardinals’ nominee for the 2022 Don Shula NFC High School Coach of the Year Award, according to a news release.
The NFL announced the high school coaches nominated by the 32 NFL teams, representing the best in coaching at the high school level.
For the first time, the NFL will recognize two winners, one from each conference, AFC and NFC, so each coach has a 1-in-16 chance of being chosen. These two winners will be invited to the Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas on Feb. 5 and will be recognized in special ways during the NFL’s week-long events.
The Bears claimed the school’s first title in football with a thrilling 28-21 win over Saguaro in the Dec. 10 Open Division title game at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Bears finished 12-1 overall, edging ALA-Queen Creek and beating Chandler Unified School District rival Chandler High, 13-0, in the playoffs.
The coaches were recognized by their local NFL club for the prestigious award — named after the late Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. The coaches were judged on areas Shula emphasized most during his 37-year coaching career: character, integrity, leadership, dedication to the community, commitment to player health and safety, and on-field success.
Roman Oben, Super Bowl champion and NFL vice president of football development, is on the eight-person committee of judges who are reviewing the nominees. The committee also includes Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and Shula’s son, former NFL coach David Shula.
“We are honored to celebrate the 32 Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year nominees, as each embodies the integrity, commitment and character of Coach Shula,” Oben said. “High school football coaches serve as leaders and role models dedicated to shaping the lives of young high school players both on and off the field and this group represents the very best from across the country every year.”
Throughout Pro Bowl week, coaches will receive VIP access and accommodations to attend the Pro Bowl Games practices for both AFC and NFC teams, on-field access at the Pro Bowl games and a chance to interact and engage with various members of the football community.
The NFL Foundation and Nike have teamed up to provide the two winners each a $15,000 award to their high school football programs and a $10,000 cash award. The other 30 club nominees will each receive a $1,000 cash award.
The Shula Award winners will be announced during the week prior to the Feb. 5 Pro Bowl Games, which will air on ESPN and ABC on Sunday, Feb. 5.
The winners will also be recognized and walk the red carpet at the 12th annual NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. on FOX.
The week in Las Vegas will also be a chance for the 32 coaches to network with each other in person — something rarely done outside of clinics or conferences.
The Los Angeles Rams’ nominee for the NFC Shula Award is Stephen Barbee. His Long Beach Poly team lost in the first round of California playoff action to Los Alamitos — a team McDonald’s Bears defeated on the road in September.
Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.
He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.
Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.