McCall football coach retires after 40-year career: ‘Nothing I have to prove anymore’
After 40 seasons on the sideline, McCall-Donnelly football coach Lee Leslie finally plans to hang up his whistle.
Leslie turned in his retirement notice Wednesday, ending an eight-year run at McCall-Donnelly that saw him turn the long-struggling program into a contender year after year.
The Vandals went 43-29 (.597) in eight seasons under Leslie. They made the playoffs seven times, won four league titles and reached a state championship game for just the second time in program history with Leslie at the helm.
“He’s completely turned around the football program,” McCall-Donnelly Principal Tim Thomas said. “He’s just energized the entire athletic department, not just football.
“In his eight years here, he’s made a connection with countless kids and families, and he’s affected their lives. And in return, they’ve committed to being better athletes, citizens and better people.”
Leslie, 62, will finish the school year as McCall-Donnelly’s weightlifting teacher. But he said it’s time to devote more of his energy to his 12 grandchildren, including one who’s about to become a freshman at Stansbury High outside of Salt Lake City.
“His four years are going to go by fast,” Leslie said. “I’m tired. I’ve been to six schools. There’s nothing I have to prove anymore.”
Leslie retires with a career record of 84-41 (.672). His decorated career includes stops at Bishop Kelly and Kuna. He led Bishop Kelly to a perfect season in 2010 before snapping a five-year playoff drought in Kuna.
Leslie also led high schools in Utah and Hawaii, as well as the Boise Burn of the now-defunct arenafootball2 league.
But his greatest rebuilding project came at McCall-Donnelly. When Leslie arrived in 2015, the Vandals had lost 16 of their previous 17 games, had only 17 players in the program and hadn’t won a playoff game since 2004.
Leslie led McCall to at least a share of the 2A WIC title every year from 2016 to ‘19. And in 2019, the Vandals reached the 2A state championship game, falling 14-13 to West Side when the Pirates stuffed a two-point conversion in the final two minutes.
“All of our sports have been elevated because of his work in the weight room,” Thomas said. “This past fall, every single team at McCall-Donnelly made it to the state tournament. Football is a part of it. But he’s impacted the school and athletic department as a whole.”
Leslie said he plans to keep his 10-acre ranch in McCall and move to Boise. But he added he’s not done giving back and wants to pursue an opportunity as a motivational speaker. He said a player’s death by suicide in 2020 forever changed him and made him realize how many teenagers are struggling.
“There are a lot of kids struggling with drugs and alcohol and those stupid phones,” Leslie said. “I’m not done working. I’m going to find a way to help the masses.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 6:44 PM.
