PHOENIX — When Dan Hinds retired after being the head football coach at Desert Vista High School in 2020, the school had only had two head coaches since opening in 1997. Now, they will look for their fifth head coach in five seasons after Scooter Molander stepped down on Monday.
The move was first reported by Zach Alvira from the East Valley Tribune and has been confirmed by 12News.
Molander spent just one season at Desert Vista. The Thunder went 2-8 and 0-4 in the 6A Central region. The Thunder missed the playoffs this past season.
He told 12News the move was made for personal reasons and that he wants to be closer to his family. He will be joining Travis Schureman's staff at Queen Creek High School as the Bulldogs' offensive coordinator and associate head coach. Jake McSpadden, Molander's offensive coordinator at DVHS, will serve as the Thunder's interim head coach.
Molander came to DVHS after spending four seasons (2019-2022) at Eastmark High School in Mesa. Molander was the first head coach in Eastmark history and led the Firebirds to a 3A state championship in 2022.
Before Eastmark, Molander spent 13 seasons (2005-17) as the head coach at Brophy Prep in Phoenix. Including the playoffs, Molander went 113-52 with the Broncos, according to the Arizona Football Archives. He won two 5A Division I state championships at Brophy (2005 and 2007) and also led the Broncos to the 2008 5A Division I state championship game. He left Brophy after the 2017 season for family reasons.
Revolving door at Desert Vista
Since Hinds retired after the 2020 season, the school has already seen a handful of head coaches.
Ty Wisdom took over in 2021, coming to Ahwatukee from Horizon High School in Scottsdale. Wisdom went 5-6 in his lone season with the Thunder before agreeing to part ways with the school in Jan. 2022.
Just two weeks after Wisdom left, DVHS hired Nate Gill away from Sierra Linda High School in Phoenix. Gill went 2-8 with the Thunder before he resigned in Feb. 2023.
About a month after Gill resigned, DVHS hired Molander, who left after less than a full calendar year.
That means the next head coach will be the Thunder's fifth in five seasons.
Before this stretch, Desert Vista had only had two head coaches, Jim Rattay (1997-2001) and Hinds (2002-2020). They each won one state championship with the Thunder. Rattay won the 5A state championship in 1998 and Hinds won the Division I state championship in 2011. Desert Vista has not played in a state championship game since 2011.
Arizona high school football head coaching carousel
Arizona has seen many high school football head coaching jobs open since the season ended in Dec. 2023. Here's a breakdown of all of the moves and which jobs are still open.
Desert Vista: Scooter Molander → TBA
Saguaro: Zak Hill → TBA
- 12News previously reported that Hill would be taking a job as the offensive coordinator and assistant athletic director at ALA-Gilbert North. After that report, Hill agreed to take a job with the Seattle Seahawks as an offensive assistant and quality control coach.
Hamilton: Mike Zdebski → Travis Dixon
Eastmark: Travis Dixon → Jason Lyons
Shadow Ridge: Sean Hegarty → Mike Zdebski
ALA-Gilbert North: Randy Ricedorff → Ty Detmer
ALA-Queen Creek: Ty Detmer → Rich Edwards
Valley Vista: Derek Wahlstrom → John Morgando
Cesar Chavez: William Burwell → Chandler Hovik
Central: Chandler Hovik → Chris Barrett
Mountain View: Joe Germaine → TBA
ALA-Mesa (New Program): Joe Germaine
Betty Fairfax: Keith Mannie → TBA
Camelback: Brandon McNutt → Dante Foster
Cholla: Virgil Henderson → Deshaun Epps
Salpointe Catholic: Eric Rogers → Pat Ryden
Canyon del Oro: Dustin Peace → TBA
North Canyon: Jeremy Dieck → Anthony Johns
Heritage Academy Laveen: Anthony Johns → TBA
Verrado: Dustin Johnson → TBA
South Mountain: Byron Evans → TBA
Shadow Mountain: Ron Fagan → Stephen Hemming
Gilbert: Derek Zellner → Stevann Brown
Copper Canyon: Chad Talley → Rodger Schenks
Sahuarita: Jacob Price → Jake Allen
Arizona College Prep: Myron Blueford → Steve Vaught
Coolidge: Rodger Schenks → Carlo Hernandez
Pueblo: Jake Allen → Sly Lewis
Benson: Dustin Cluff → Chris Rasmussen
Chandler Prep: Frank Peake → Chris Ator
Show Low: Carlo Hernandez → Mike Boyce
Desert Sunrise: Jonathan Clark → Steven Beard
Boulder Creek: Tony Casarella → Josh Bahr
Trivium Prep: Stephen Hemming→ Kalae Wong
Sierra Linda: Ty Preyer → Roland Pierce
Mingus: Dave Moncibaez → TBA
Willcox: Eric Hjalmarson → TBA
Maryvale: Byron Taylor → TBA
Morenci: Rishard Davis → TBA
Winslow: Brandon Guzman → Dustin Cluff
Lee Williams: Stevaan Brown → TBA
Rio Rico: Jeff Scurran → Shawn Holley
Rincon/University: Khyree Copeland → TBA
Globe: Talmage Hansen → Brady Hoff
Bisbee: Shawn Holley → TBA
Veritas Prep: Jason Black → Mike Sanfratello
Catalina Foothills: Daniel Sainz → TBA
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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