WASHINGTON TERRACE -- Who better to be the Lakers new head football coach than a former Bonneville High School quarterback?
After having just one coach for 31 years -- the legendary Thom Budge -- 33-year-old Tyler Gladwell is the third Lakers coach spanning the last three years.
He replaces Randy Johnson, who won the 1992 state 4-A championship at Clearfield with a 27-0 victory over Bonneville, and stepped down after only one season with the Lakers.
Bonneville went 5-5 overall, but was just 1-4 in a newly-aligned Region 5 in 2011 and did not qualify for the 4-A playoffs.
The Lakers last made the state 4-A playoffs during their 2009 Region 5 runner-up finish under then-coach Matt Williams, who is now a Roy High assistant principal.
"I think Bonneville is a great football community," said Gladwell, whose first day on Bonneville's faculty is today. "I feel fortunate to have grown up in the Bonneville tradition and to have coached at Davis with its tradition. Now to be able to come back to Bonneville where I was able to play for such a great man like coach Budge."
Gladwell applied for the Lakers' coaching position after Williams' departure during the spring of 2011, but did not interview.
"I withdrew my name from consideration when they called me for an interview," he said. "The first time the timing was bad, being at the end of the 2010-11 school year and a different situation. The timing was a lot better this time and the situation was different, too.
"A lot of guys don't get a chance to go back to their alma mater, and I wanted to go back to Bonneville and continue that tradition," Gladwell said.
The Lakers are 339-201-1 in 52 seasons with one state football title (1980, 4-A) and five championship game appearances.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be coaching at Bonneville," Gladwell said. "But when I became a teacher and coach, it was something I thought about -- going back to where I played high school football -- but not something I focused on."
Gladwell was a 1996 Bonneville graduate and a two-year starter at quarterback. The Lakers swept the 1995 Region 1 title with a 6-0 record, but lost to Highland 31-28 in the 5-A playoffs.
He attended Ricks College for a year -- Gladwell was a greyshirt -- then transferred to Weber State (1998-2001) where he started one season at quarterback for the Wildcats.
Gladwell was out of football for 3-4 years before joining Johnson's staff at Clearfield for one year as quarterbacks coach. In 2006, he was hired on Ryan Bishop's staff at Davis and started teaching at the school the following year.
Gladwell coached six years with the Darts -- his first two seasons as wideouts/defensive backs coach and the next four years as defensive coordinator -- with a 2009 state 5-A championship game appearance versus Bingham.
"I'm excited for this opportunity, and I don't know how you know if you're ready," he said. "I have been around quality people like Jay Welk and Ryan, watching them run their programs, which has benefitted me."
Gladwell met with the returning Bonneville players on Jan. 9 after school.
"It was fun to get up in front of the kids and meet them," he said. "After I talked for 15 minutes, they stuck around and shook my hand and introduced themselves to me.
"I want the kids excited about Bonneville football and to know the tradition. I want them to look forward to wearing that anchor on their helmet," Gladwell said. "The numbers have been down lately, so I want to get the numbers back up.
"The top priority is to get the kids going in a football class and get them excited about the upcoming season. We'll use that class as a resource to get stronger, faster and quicker," he said. "I want to use that time to teach attitude, accountability and discipline. Being in the school is huge for me. I'll see the kids every day and be able to build trust and relationships. A lot of people on both sides had to work to get this done and took care of me."
Gladwell wants to have his coaching staff in place within the next month.
"I want to get what I call a 'Bonneville family,' either people currently on staff at Bonneville or guys who played at Bonneville," he said. "I feel it's important to get some Bonneville guys on my staff. Another good thing going on at Bonneville is the coaches are all young and energetic.
"One of the things I want to focus on is the tradition of Bonneville and coach Budge is part of that. Nobody can replace coach Budge, and I'm very honored to follow in his footsteps," Gladwell said. "I have to be my own man, focus on what is already in place here to be successful, surround myself with good people and go to work. There are a lot of good things going on in the community."
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