Owyhee football coach dismissed after two seasons. What the Storm are looking for next
Owyhee High will not bring back its football coach, Sherm Blaser, for another season.
The second-year program opted not to renew Blaser’s contract earlier this month, Blaser and Owyhee Athletic Director Dane Roy told the Idaho Statesman.
“It was one of those deals where we went into the end-of-season evaluation, and they told me what they’d decided,” Blaser said. “They told me I had a choice to resign or not, and I chose not to resign.”
Idaho high schools rarely fire coaches as their contracts simply expire after the season ends. Owyhee told Blaser he would not return next fall, Roy said.
The former Boise State tight end was the first coach West Ada’s newest high school hired two years ago. The Storm struggled in their first season, going 1-8. But Owyhee improved to 5-5 this fall and qualified for the 5A state playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Rigby in the first round.
An up-and-down season saw the Storm start 3-0 before losing three straight. Owyhee placed Blaser on a one-week leave after its third straight loss, but he returned to coach the Storm’s final three games.
“We went through the process, evaluated things, and thought our best option was to move forward with a new coach,” Roy said. “... He’s a great guy, a great man. It just wasn’t a good fit with where we wanted to be headed.”
Blaser, 40, remains a weightlifting teacher at Owyhee and said he plans to coach again. He previously led Kuna to a 4A state title and an undefeated season in 2019. After going 6-13 in two seasons at Owyhee, his career record stands at 44-48, with additional stops at Madison and Melba.
Blaser said he feels he left the Owyhee program in strong shape.
“I put in a ton of time and work, and our coaching staff put in a ton of time and work, to get it to where it’s at,” Blaser said. “There are athletes. There are strong numbers. There were around 150 kids total in the program. The booster club is running and going strong now.
“... The admin just felt like it was time for someone else to run it.”
Roy said Owyhee plans to leave the job posting up for two weeks before beginning interviews. He said his goal is to present a finalist to the West Ada school board at its January meeting. West Ada requires school board approval to hire coaches.
“Ultimately, we want to be state champs,” Roy said. “I know that’s a process and a grind, and it takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. Hopefully, we can find somebody who embodies that same energy and has the same goals of getting us to the highest level as quickly as possible.”
Owyhee is the second 5A SIC school to make a football coaching change since the season ended. Capital’s Jay Bohner stepped down after one season.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 11:50 AM.
