Rocky Mountain will have a new football coach this fall.
Richard Despain will be Rocky Mountain’s head coach this fall. He will replace David Hayes, who was not retained after six seasons as head coach.
Despain’s hiring was approved by the Big Horn County School District No. 1 board during its meeting April 14, meeting minutes show.
Despain has been an assistant coach at both Powell and Rocky Mountain; he has spent the past two years with the Grizzlies. He was an assistant coach on the 2012 North Shrine Bowl team while at Powell.
Hayes posted a 30-23 record in his six seasons with the Grizzlies. He took the team to the playoffs five times in six seasons but never went past the quarterfinals. The Grizzlies went 5-4 last season and lost to eventual Class 1A 11-man champion Upton-Sundance in the quarterfinals.
Hayes said via email to wyoming-football.com he expected to return as head coach for 2016.
“For whatever reason, the school wanted to go a different direction,” Hayes wrote. “I don’t have a whole lot to say other than I was very disappointed to lose the head coaching job. I was looking forward to working with a very talented group!”
However, Hayes said Despain is a solid coach who comes from a winning tradition.
–patrick