Cda Hires Kellogg Coach For Football Amos, Who Lives In Lake City, Had 11-6-1 Record In Two Years

Coeur d’Alene High School officials looked outside their district for a head football coach.

As it turned out, though, the new coach already lives in town.

Kellogg High head coach Shawn Amos’ commute to work was shortened by 30 minutes when he was named the Vikings coach on Monday. The school board approved his hiring at a meeting Monday evening.

“I didn’t think about the shorter drive to work until I applied,” Amos said minutes after telling his Kellogg team that he resigned. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a program with a lot of tradition.”

Amos, 30, was one of eight finalists. He and former Kellogg and current Hillcrest coach Randy Gleave apparently emerged as leading candidates following final interviews Friday.

Gleave withdrew his name from consideration Saturday.

“It was a family decision,” said Gleave, 42, whose next-to-youngest and youngest boys will be a senior and junior next year at the Idaho Falls school. “It just turned out to be the wrong time for us.”

Others interviewed were: Burley, Idaho, head coach Bill Hicks; former two-time Sandpoint head coach and current Bulldogs assistant Bill Barlow; Sean Dorris, a standout CdA High and University of Montana player; Lindsay Hughes of Ames, Iowa, a former Washington State and Iowa State assistant; and Greg Trenary, former head coach at Jerome, Idaho, and assistant at Helena-Capital in Montana.

Another finalist, Lawrence Thomas, head coach at Green Valley in Henderson, Nev., declined an interview.

“He’s proven to be a great motivator of kids, both in the classroom and on the field,” said CdA athletic Larry Schwenke. “He comes with youthful enthusiasm and has quality experience as a head coach both in football and wrestling.”

Amos replaces Bill Anderson, 51, who resigned in February because of health reasons after two seasons. His teams were a combined 6-12.

A 1986 Moscow High graduate, Amos was a standout running back and two-time all-state selection. Two of his three brothers also teach and coach, including his youngest brother, Kelly, who is the head football, wrestling and track coach at Clearwater Valley, an A-3 school in Kooskia, Idaho.

Amos served as head wrestling coach at Kellogg before taking over as football coach two years ago following three years as an assistant.

He took over a team that went 0-8 three years ago. His first team went 4-4-1. Last year, Kellogg finished 7-2 and in a three-way tie for second. The Wildcats lost in a mini-playoff for a state playoff berth.

Amos inherits a CdA program shrouded by internal coaching conflicts the past two years.

“The No. 1 thing I want to do is build a loyal coaching staff,” said Amos, who acknowledged he’s aware of the recent problems. “And I want to infuse some excitement into the program. The administration and I are on the same page. They want to get back to the tradition Coeur d’Alene is known for. And I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think we could turn it around.

“We’ll play hard and play with a lot of enthusiasm. If you build that, the wins will come eventually.”

Amos is married and has a 2-year-old son.

His rebuilding job begins immediately, he said. Amos will meet with returning players and incoming freshmen this week. He’s tentatively scheduled a summer camp for ninth through 12th graders for June 16-20.

, DataTimes