Richard Smith West Valley Preps

Deer Valley is looking for a new football coach after Eric Bolus resigned last week.

Bolus is a lifer at the Glendale school — a 1989 Deer Valley graduate who began working as a football assistant in 1991 and teaching American history at his alma mater in 1999.

In fact, Bolus, who became the head coach in 2013 after years as the Skyhawks’ defensive coordinator, did not call it a resignation.

"I learned of Coach Bolus’ retirement when he turned in his letter last week. I did not know he planned to retire, but it is certainly well-earned after 27 years of coaching football," Deer Valley athletic director Scott Warner stated in an email.

Bolus also is the Skyhawks’ boys and girls track coach and Warner stated he will continue in those roles. The Skyhawks won the 2016 girls Division II title.

Bolus said he is looking forward to track season  - in particular, coaching his daughter, Logan, in track and watching her play volleyball.

On the gridiron, Bolus’ first year was his most successful and most trying. In his first game as head coach, he consulted with school and district administrators and decided to play two junior transfers from Centennial. Their transfers were cleared the next week by the AIA.

But weeks later, the AIA board put the entire Deer Valley athletic program on probation for playing the players in the first game. In October of that year, the Skyhawks’ probation was lifted — later it was learned that in part, that decision was made because the district was firing then-principal Barbara Dobbs and then-athletic director John Allen.

Following a (fairly awkward) regular season game at Centennial, the Skyhawks finished the season 7-3 and knocked off Phoenix Sunnyslope to set up a rematch in Coyote Country. Deer Valley earned the biggest win in program history, knocking off No. 4 Centennial 20-14.

The 2013 Skyhawks made their first semifinal trip, losing to eventual state champion Tucson Salpointe Catholic. In 2014, Deer Valley went 8-2 and fell in the first round to Tempe Marcos de Niza.

2015 was a rebuilding year, then the 2016 Skyhawks took off late and just missed the playoffs at 6-4. This fall started with high hopes but ended at 5-5, with close losses to Verrado and Desert Edge being the difference between a region title than .500.

Warner said the search for a new coach has begun and is a fairly urgent matter, with or without the new option of extensive off-season practices.

"We would begin looking immediately whether the new AIA bylaw governing outside of season practice were in effect or not. A high school football coach is a high profile position on campus," Warner stated. "Our district requires us to post job openings at the job site first, then if there are not enough or no qualified candidates, the job posts district-wide. If there are still no qualified candidates, we open the listing up to the outside. We have currently posted the position within our school and anticipate it going out district-wide on Monday. We will expect our new coach to begin putting their new staff together very soon after they are hired."