‘Old-school but fun.’ Legendary Tacoma football coach dies at 89
Keith Brown figured he had earned a day off. He was playing well for the 1975 Foss football team and the Falcons were rolling. So he told his coach, Jack Sonntag, that his ankle was a little sore, and he planned to take the day off to rest.
Sonntag looked him up and down.
“Well, if you can’t practice, I guess I’ve gotta find somebody to take your place,” Sonntag told him.
Brown’s ankle magically felt better.
“That just shocked me,” Brown, 68, told The News Tribune over the phone on Monday afternoon. “From that day on, I didn’t care how hurt I was, I was playing. He just instilled that fire in you. I’m just blessed that was my coach.”
Sonntag, born in 1936, coached the 1975 Foss Falcons to the Class 4A state championship that year, part of a career in coaching, teaching and administration at Tacoma Public Schools. Sonntag died on March 4, 2026 at the age of 89, a few months after the 50th anniversary of the Foss state championship team.
“A real no-nonsense disciplinarian, but really into teaching kids right from wrong, not being like your buddy, holding people accountable,” said Sonntag’s son, Scott, who is a social worker in Tacoma. “He really had a big influence on the kids in Tacoma that he coached, not only coaching them but even after. They’d visit him at home to this day, come see him.
“The care he had for the kids that played for him after he was done coaching was really special. I think that’s more of the legacy.”
Sonntag graduated from Stadium High School, served two years in the U.S. Marine Corps — where he was also a boxer — and later graduated from Seattle Pacific University. In 1963, he married his high school sweetheart, Betsy McBride, and together they raised four children. He started coaching basketball and football in 1963 at Gray and Hunter junior high schools. He became an assistant football coach at Stadium in 1972 and took over as the Foss head coach in 1973. He coached the Falcons from 1973 to 1982, before starting his administrative career at Wilson in 1983.
Brown was a standout receiver and free safety for the 1975 Foss team. He had an interception and a touchdown in the state championship game. While Sonntag was tough on the team, Brown said the life lessons learned were immeasurable.
“He was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” Brown said. “He was old-school, but fun, though. He taught us hard work, really mentally, physically and emotionally. … He got us to work as a team.”
Foss went undefeated that season and blew out nearly everyone on its schedule before beating Richland in the title game, 17-7 at Memorial Stadium in Seattle. Practices were grueling. Sonntag demanded his players be in better physical condition than the team’s opponents. It created a connection between the players.
“To this date, that group of guys, we have a certain bond because of him,” Brown said.
Scott Sonntag said his dad was soft spoken but effortlessly commanded respect. He was meticulous, detail-oriented and highly organized in everything he did. His shoes were always shined, a habit tracing back to his Marine Corps days. He said that even in his later days, his dad could still recall specific plays from football seasons 50 years earlier.
“A special guy,” Scott Sonntag said.
One of Sonntag’s grandchildren, Mason, is a basketball player at Puyallup High School and helped lead the Vikings to back-to-back 4A state tournament appearances at the Tacoma Dome in 2025 and 2026.
A memorial service to honor Sonntag will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Tacoma. It is open to the public.
