Post Falls’ Lee steps aside once more

Jerry Lee restored the Post Falls High football program not once but twice.

On Tuesday, Lee told about 90 juniors, sophomores and freshmen it was time for him to hand off the job to somebody else.

Lee, 55, turned in his letter of resignation to administrators Friday after his second stint as head coach. He led the Trojans to their best start in school history last fall. Post Falls finished 8-2 overall and co-Inland Empire League champs with Sandpoint while advancing to the 4A state playoffs. The Trojans were 8-0 before Sandpoint pulled out a 17-14 win on a last-second field goal in a regular-season finale at Sandpoint.

“I came back with a goal to turn the program around again,” Lee said. “We got that established. I don’t have the energy to do the things we need to do to make it a top program year in and year out. I think one of the other coaches would do a better job doing the things that I don’t want to spend a whole lot of timing doing.”

Lee spent six years as Post Falls’ head coach in his first stint after two years at Sandpoint in the mid 1980s. His overall record is 63-54. The Trojans had their first winning season last fall since 1996 – the final year in Lee’s first go around as head coach. Post Falls was 14-14 the last three years in his return.

“He added a lot to our program since he came back,” Post Falls principal John Billetz said. “He put it back to where it was when I first got here in 1995. He’s a great football coach and a quality man. We hate losing him.”

Billetz said no timetable has been set on filling the job.Lee will push for the hiring of Jeff Hinz, his assistant head coach and offensive coordinator the past three years.

Mike Lindquist, the Trojans’ linebacker coach and a 1993 Post Falls grad, also is interested in the job.