Beamer, seeking football coach, finds ousted Gig Harbor coach McKay
DOUG PACEY
Less than a week after Beamer High opened its search for a football head coach, the hunt is over.
The Titans filled the vacancy with a big-name hire, choosing ex-Gig Harbor High coach Darren McKay.
“I’m excited and happy,” McKay said. “Unless something opened up late I expected to be teaching at Gig Harbor next year and taking the year off from coaching.”
McKay marveled at the speed of the interview process.
“It moved incredibly fast,” he said.
McKay said he first heard about the opening at Beamer last Thursday evening when a friend phoned him about the opening. The next day, Beamer athletic director Jerry Peterson called McKay and asked if he’d be interested.
McKay listened and spent the weekend thinking about the job. On Monday, he visited the school, meeting Peterson and others.
He was asked to return for a formal interview and did at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. After the interview, McKay drove to Eastern Washington University where his son Carter was attending a football camp.
Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Peterson called McKay and offered him the position and McKay accepted.
“We’re excited to have Darren join the Beamer community and direct our football program,” Peterson said.
The Beamer job became available when former coach David Sundheim, who was with the Titans for three seasons, resigned last week and took a coaching position closer to his family in North Carolina.
Beamer went 2-8 last season, one year after reaching the postseason for the first time in school history.
McKay’s 12 seasons with the Tides ended in April when his contract was not renewed after McKay fought the Peninsula School District’s decision to place him on an improvement plan last winter that he considered unfair and unnecessary.
McKay has hired an attorney and plans to file a lawsuit against the school district regarding the non-renewal of his coaching contract, he said. High school coaches of all sports typically have one-year contracts.
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