Auburn Mountainview coach Jared Gervais resigns after 11 seasons
Longtime Auburn Mountainview football coach Jared Gervais has stepped down at the school.
Gervais informed Lions athletic direct Chris Carr this week that he would not return for a 12th season this fall, and told his team on Friday afternoon. In 11 years at the school, Gervais compiled a 55-51 overall record.
“I think I get a little restless,” Gervais said. “It’s something I got handed down from my mom, maybe. When I first got this job, I figured I would move every five to six years. I’ve been at Auburn Mountainview for 11.”
Victories-wise, his best two years came back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 when Auburn Mountainview went 9-2 and 8-3. Percentage-wise, the last two years actually eclipsed that run.
Auburn Mountainview won all five of its pandemic-delayed 2020 games (in the spring of 2021) then went 6-3 last fall – a 78.5 percent clip compared with the 77 percent from 2014-15.
“Gerv and I are good friends,” Auburn Mountainview athletic director Chris Carr said. “He’s not one of those lifer guys. Being a coach is not what defines him, and I enjoy that about him. Family is No. 1 for him.”
Family, in fact, could influence Gervais’ next move. The coach said he and his wife have been discussing a potential relocation further southwest, like on the peninsula.
His in-laws moved to the Gig Harbor area, he said, from South Hill, and his mother-in-law helps with daycare a couple of days a week. A move there would alleviate commute issues.
And, since Gervais said he does want to continue coaching, the near-simultaneous resignation of Gig Harbor coach George Fairhart leaves an opening at that school. It’s a job about which Gervais said he definitely will inquire.
“I’m not opposed to being an assistant somewhere for a couple of years,” Gervais said. “But I do want to be a head coach again. Football-wise, I was just at a point where I had that feeling, that I needed a change.”
Gervais and his family made the final decision to leave Auburn Mountainview on Wednesday night. He talked with his assistant coaches, one of whom put the notice of Gig Harbor’s opening on his desk on Thursday — a day before that resignation was announced.
“I did not expect that,” Gervais said. “It wasn’t like I left Mountainview because of that job. Auburn Mountainview is a great place to teach and work. It’s a great job.”
A move to Gig Harbor would seem somehow serendipitous. Three decades ago, his uncle – Steve Gervais – left a successful run at Eatonville High to become the coach for the Tides. Now the Tides potentially could bring history back around and install another successful Gervais at the helm.
The Lions advanced at least to the district playoff round virtually every season that Gervais was the coach. Only twice did they move beyond that Week 10 game, however. And in both 2014 and 2015, Mountainview lost the first-round state game.
“We made the playoffs every year,” Gervais said. “Winning that playoff game has been tough. I hope the next guy can find a way to get over that hump.”
While Gervais contemplates his next move, Auburn Mountainview intends to move quickly to find that next coach. Carr said he spent much of Friday morning talking with the district and getting a job posting ready.
“We’re opening it Monday,” Carr said. “With openings at both Tahoma and Kentlake, they want to move right now.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 3:31 PM.