Puyallup lands rising coach DJ Mims, who turned Mercer Island into contender
DJ Mims won’t miss his old commute. He logged over three hours a day driving to and from his coaching job at Mercer Island High School the past three years.
The new gig will be a little closer to his South Hill area home. Mims has been named the new head football coach at Puyallup High School, replacing Brian Grout, who recently resigned.
“The talent and roster is loaded, I’m aware of that,” Mims said of his new job at Sparks Stadium. “I’ve known the talent Puyallup has had over the last few decades. They get kids from the community. … We know what the expectations are, what the pressure is.”
On paper, Puyallup is one of the most desirable jobs in the state. The Vikings have a rich history, play in one of the state’s best high school stadiums and have a steady stream of talent coming through the hallways every year.
“We know it’s a tough league, too,” Mims told The News Tribune. “The SPSL is probably the toughest 4A league in the state.”
Mims, 32, is a South Sound native. He played high school football at Franklin Pierce (2007-11) under offensive coordinator and former WSU quarterback Jason Gesser, who now coaches at Seton Catholic, a private school in Vancouver. Mims went on to play college football as a wide receiver at Division II Malone University in Canton, Ohio.
He moved back home and started coaching, working as an assistant at Foss and Franklin Pierce before landing his first head coaching position at Life Christian. He left shortly thereafter for Mercer Island, where he built a contender. The Islanders went winless in Mims’ first season, went 6-4 and made the playoffs in year two and last fall, went 10-1.
“The biggest obstacle was football came last, in terms of what those kids’ priorities were,” Mims said. “Lacrosse, baseball, boys soccer, the swimming program (all came first). All these other programs were succeeding. Football, you could barely get kids to turn out.”
Mims said he had to “dig deep,” and focused on connecting with the players.
“Where I’m from, football is our only chance to get out and get a free education,” Mims said. “It’s not the same dynamic up there. We had to find ways to motivate them.”
Mims said they focused on strength and conditioning and saw the participation numbers increase in each of his three years. The Islanders started finding success in Mims’ spread offense. Junior quarterback Youngmin Lee threw for 2,901 yards, 37 touchdowns and just three interceptions last fall.
Expect a similar approach at Puyallup: balanced offensively, but with an emphasis on spreading the ball around to Puyallup’s playmakers. Mims is excited to get to work, facing off against reigning state champion and valley rival Sumner, perennial state contender Graham-Kapowsin and others in the 4A SPSL.
“You can’t have an off night,” he said. “That’s the mentality we’ll take to every practice, every meeting.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 2:47 PM.
