Family style: coach Aaron Chantler’s journey from Gig Harbor to Auburn leads to glory
Aaron Chantler knew it was going to take some time.
When he took the reins of the Auburn High School football program in 2018 from 16-year head coach Gordon “Gordy” Elliott — his father-in-law — they talked about a five-year plan. Seeing the participation numbers and the youth of the program, it was shaping up to be a rebuilding process.
In 2018, Auburn went 2-8. Again the next year, 2-8.
“We knew we were going to have to take our lumps,” Chantler said.
The good news? Chantler had a track record of success. He was the head coach at Gig Harbor previously, posting a 36-18 record with two league titles, a 4A Narrows coach of the year honor and four consecutive state tournament appearances. So when things got off to a slow start at Auburn, he never wavered.
“You have to be patient,” he said from Auburn Memorial Field on Wednesday, where his Trojans had just won the 3A North Puget Sound League title five days earlier, beating rival Auburn Riverside. “We live in a society that wants immediate results. We’ve just stayed true (to the process) and these seniors have really shown that.”
This year, the Trojans are 8-1 overall and just completed an undefeated run through the 3A NPSL, riding the talents of dynamic dual-threat quarterback Amari Goodfellow (1,841 passing yards, 18 TD; 785 rushing yards, 14 TD) to the school’s first outright league title since 2009.
It was an emotional moment for Chantler, who hugged Elliott — who recently retired from teaching and now serves as Chantler’s defensive coordinator — on the sideline as the clock wound down.
“When the game was over, I kind of squatted down and there were a lot of emotions that hit,” Chantler said. “I got to turn around — my kids were little the last time I won one and don’t really remember it — to see my wife and kids there, my mom and my dad, Gordy with me, coaches that are like brothers to me, it was cool and overwhelming. I knew what it meant to our kids and our community and to share it with him was really cool.”
Chantler enjoyed plenty of success, coaching 2015 TNT All-Area player of the year and quarterback Davis Alexander. His offenses were known for being fast-paced, high-flying and spread out. Elliott’s offense at Auburn, though, was a jet-sweep offense that was more constricted, favoring ball control and controlling time of possession.
Chantler served as Elliott’s offensive coordinator for a season before taking over as the head coach. Once he did, he installed the offense he ran at Gig Harbor. Elliott’s other son-in-law, Chris Paulson, was previously the head football coach at Curtis. He’s working as an assistant on Jason Silbaugh’s staff at Bonney Lake these days. From the start of Chantler and Paulson’s coaching careers, he encouraged them to forge their own paths. So when Chantler replaced his offense, Elliott’s ego wasn’t bruised.
“Not at all,” he said. “I always told both son-in-laws, you’ve gotta choose your own offense. I don’t want you running mine. I told both of them, you’ve gotta have something that you’re known for. It shouldn’t be mine. It should be something that you feel comfortable with and that you’re willing to put your brand on.”
Even in Chantler’s Gig Harbor days, that was the consistent message — have something to hang your hat on.
“Have an identity,” Elliott said. “Don’t be one of those teams that’s here, there, everywhere, changing things every year. Decide what you want to be and then work hard to be that. From day one at Gig Harbor, that’s what he’s been.”
It makes for an exciting, if not sometimes dizzying, brand of football. And it has Auburn in the playoffs in Week 10, one win away from the program’s first state tournament appearance since 2012.
Defensive tackle Danny Shelton, currently on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, was the last great football player to walk Auburn’s halls. It was fitting then, with the Chiefs on bye, that Shelton was in town to watch Auburn clinch its first league title since 2009, when he played for Elliott and the Trojans. Elliott didn’t know Shelton was coming to the game.
“All the sudden I look up and he’s sitting up there with my grandsons,” Elliott said. “Just bringing the whole thing together again. For (Chantler), he’s done such a great job here. He deserves to be in this spot.”
