Scottsdale Saguaro football coach John Sanders has been touring Mesa Dobson informally and will have an interview there later tonight. He is also expected to talk to Gilbert next week about its coaching vacancy.
But the parents of his players at Saguaro are making a push to keep him. Sanders said one of his sophomores came up to him on Wednesday and asked if a football-only field house would entice him to stay. The player’s dad offered to build the facility.
“Of course that would help,” Sanders said. “If that materializes” leaving gets much harder.
Sanders said he felt confident Dobson would offer him the head coaching job, but isn’t sure if he would take it. He likes everything the Mustangs have to offer, and sees a lot of potential in a place with good facilities and plenty of enrollment.
But the hardest part would be leaving the players at Saguaro. Sanders said there is a special bond with those kids, and he wants to stay if the business end gets worked out. Saguaro’s administration, though, hasn’t made any promises or offers, leaving Sanders open to the possibility of leaving.
His biggest sticking points are a weight room and more flexible teaching hours.
Sanders knows that both Dobson and Gilbert would want a decision quickly if he was offered the coaching job. He hasn’t talked to the Saguaro administration directly about changes, hoping they would come to him. Sanders said he may press the issue more now so he can figure out what to do.
Everything is in limbo right now, but stay tuned. We’ll likely have a resolution within a couple weeks.
