Dennis Grayless steps down as Head Coach.

Shawnee Mission North will be under the direction of a new coach next season. Dennis Grayless has stepped down after his 3rd season with the Indians in which he compiled a 4-24 record including one playoff appearance in 2010.Grayless's exit comes off the heels of a 0-9 season for North, the first since 1985 for the Indians.   *** I will try and get some former/current player reactions to the news later on today. I will also add coaches to the list as I hear names being thrown into the mix.

Reactions from former/current players:

Brock Burrows:

"Well, my junior year was his first year as head coach, and we had a great coaching staff a long with great talent. And as we settled into the new offense we were doing great things on the offensive side. Then my senior year our offensive coordinator, Coach Jayson Poppinga left to coach with his brother in South Dakota, and coach Grayless took over that job. And I'll never know why.. Coach Grayless was a great head coach and a great motivator, but once he took over the job on offense is when it went downhill. He just simply didn't know the offense; very predictable, and he never really knew what play to call. And as far as stepping down, I think he made the right move. It's time for North to move on and find a new coach. I don't know what he was thinking but North just simply didn't have much talent at all, and Coach Saban from Alabama couldn't have won a game with that team. And I think Reichart would be great. He's such a great coach and he knows both sides of the ball. And all he does is care".

Nick Finazzo:
"I feel like it was needed, it sucks the way my senior year went but looking back at some of the things that happened and the way they were run I believe that it was needed. He lost the team for sure! It was tough for me but being the quarterback captain I had to try and keep everyone positive and motivated throughout the season when people just lost respect for our coach. And honestly I can't blame them for doing so but being in the situation I was in I just had to try and keep every one's head on straight and moving forward! And I believe our line coach Nick McGrain deserves it but he won't get it".

Matthew Maynard:
"I think it's what the program needed. They need a new offensive mind in there to get the program turned around. Coach Grayless was a great man, but unfortunately that doesn't always translate to wins. I hope North can find a coach to get the program going back in the right direction".

Mason Perez:
"North really needs a new offensive attack we didnt have the right talent to run the wing t in my opion we were to predictable as brock said and i feel bad for the seniors this year and even the ones my junior year but hopefully with a new coaching change my little brother wont have to go through waht me and so many more had to with losing all the time. Kind of excited to see who the new coach will be".

My possible replacement list:

Dave Reichart: Reichart has been around the SMN program since I was a freshman at North in 2004.  He's a graduate of SM West, and Kansas State so he's familiar with the Sunflower League as a whole. During his time at SM West he was named second team all Sunflower League at quarterback in 1991.  Reichart is also one of the most respected individuals that I know at SM North, one thing I can promise is discipline wont be a problem for the Indians.

Mack Brown: Those close to the Sunflower League or SM North will recognize the Brown family quickly.  Mack's father Sam Brown was the last SM North head coach to compile a winning record.  Mack went to school at SM North and played quarterback eventually earning a scholarship to Colorado before transferring to Baker University.  Currently Mack is an assistant coach at the University of Missouri, and last season worked offensively for Lawrence High.  Mack would be a great fit for North, but I'm not sure he'll leave Missouri for SMN.





Bryan DeLong:  DeLong currently is the head coach at Center High School and has turned their program into a winning one. In the last three seasons under DeLong, Center's gone 21-8.  Delong was a weights coach at SM North in the early 2000's thus he has ties to the SMN program.  He's also been a defensive coordinator at SMN, and Blue Valley North from 2002-2009.  I think SMN could lure DeLong based on the fact the Sunflower League is sort of the SEC in Kansas.  It'd be a step up in competition for DeLong who's a very competitive winner.