Gonzaga Prep’s Dave McKenna retires as football coach after 16 seasons

Longtime Gonzaga Prep head football coach Dave McKenna is retiring from football after 16 seasons, the school announced on Thursday.

McKenna will stay on at the school as dean of students and golf coach.

McKenna, who graduated from G-Prep in 1988, was the winningest active coach in the Greater Spokane League. He went 136-37 with eight GSL titles and the 2015 State 4A championship, the first time the Bullpups won the state title since 1986 – when McKenna was the backup quarterback for the Bullpups.

He was named GSL Coach of the Year six times, and Washington state high school coach of the year in the championship season of 2015.

Gonzaga Prep won the GSL title this season and finished 10-2 overall, 8-0 in league. The Bullpups advanced to a state quarterfinal, where they fell on the road to top-seeded Graham-Kapowsin 20-14.

McKenna was just the fifth coach in the program’s 95-year history. He joined the staff as a volunteer assistant in 1990 under legendary coach Don Anderson, and succeeded Dave Carson as head coach in 2008.

The search for a new head football coach will begin in the coming weeks, according to the school’s news release.