Chadwick forced out as Yuma High football coach

Michael Chadwick told The Sun that the Yuma High administration asked for his resignation as the school's head football coach on Thursday.

Chadwick served one year as the Criminals' head coach after moving his family from Washington to replace Rhett Stallworth last summer. He will retain his teaching job at Yuma High.

Chadwick said the reasons he was given for his termination were that he did not adequately develop the booster club, his coaching staff did not seem conducive and the team's 2-8 overall record. He added he was disappointed but will respect the administration's decision.

"I'm literally shocked. It's a mind-blower what they've done here," Chadwick said. "I was told I had three years to build the football program and basically I was given six months.

"I was committed to this school, to the community and worked hard to improve the program, and actually have evidence to improvement, despite enormous amounts of adversity."

Yuma athletic director Mike Sharp declined comment, citing that it was "a personnel issue."

Chadwick said he thinks the reasons for his termination were invalid arguments, noting that the booster members in place were appointed by previous coach Rhett Stallworth and could not be replaced until May.

"I just think in the end it came down to the booster club not having support for me because they were Rhett Stallworth appointed booster members," he said. "I wish I had been given an opportunity to put my booster members in place and build the program because we are on the right track."

Bobby McMorris, president of the Yuma High football booster club, said he had no reason to comment on the situation.

"I'm there for Yuma High, regardless of who the coach is," McMorris said. "I'm the president of the booster club and I'm there to raise money for the kids. The booster club is there to support the kids and that's basically what our booster club has done."

Chadwick said he walked into possibly the most difficult schedule in school history. Yuma lost its first seven games of the season, but defeated Cibola and San Luis in Gila Valley play, and came one play away from nearly capturing the region title and earning the automatic bid to the state playoffs on the last day of the season against Kofa.

Chadwick said that he's proud of the strides the program made in his only season, adding the junior varsity program has prospered and freshmen numbers are already greater this year than all of last year after the program took a hit in enrollment due to the opening of Gila Ridge.

"To go through yet another coaching change after I've restabilized the football program, built the numbers back up, put so much time and energy into it, got a JV program that almost went undefeated," he said, "to pull me out and try to bring somebody else in to start an entirely new transition seems counterproductive to all the progress. But they've just failed to see where I was coming from."

Chadwick said he turned down an opportunity to coach at another school in Colorado this year because he felt committed to the Yuma High football program.

"I will continue to teach, but my options are wide open. I would like to get back into coaching as a head coach or as an assistant somewhere," Chadwick said. "I wish the kids and players at Yuma High School and the football program the very best."