Eastlake Football program to undergo changes as four coaches depart

SAMMAMISH – On January 4th, the Eastlake Football team gathered all of its players and coaches together for the first time since finishing their most recent season. At the meeting, it was officially announced by four different coaches that they will not return to Eastlake next season. Head coach Kyle Snell, who had been head coach for two seasons since the departure of previous head coach, Don Bartel, was one of the coaches that announced their departure. Snell, who has been a coach at Eastlake for many years before becoming a head coach in 2021, finished his head coaching career at Eastlake with an impressive record of 20-4. Snell, who is a PE teacher at Eastlake, will finish the school year at Eastlake before moving to Spokane. Additionally, three other coaches announced that they will also not return to Eastlake. Josh Markey, who served Eastlake for many years as a defensive backs coach, will move his coaching job to Woodinville, where he and his family live. John Hollifield, who also served Eastlake for many years as a defensive line coach, announced he will be moving to Idaho before the start of the next season. Mike Linker, who has coached for over 40 years at various locations, announced his retirement. The four coaches have all made significant impacts to the program over the years and will be greatly missed.

Many open spots in the Eastlake coaching staff have opened following the news of the departures. The biggest open jobs include the head coach position, as well as the offensive coordinator position, which were both occupied by Snell. Other open spots are defensive backs coach, and both offensive and defensive line are open. Eastlake athletics director, Pat Bangasser, estimates that new head coach will be hired in the first week of March.

With a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator, as well as several other changes to coaching positions, many changes are expected to be made to the Eastlake football program. In the two seasons since the shortened four game season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has had a record of 20-4, and has also won a KingCo championship, made a state semi finals appearance, and had a whopping point differential of +486. As the Wolves head into a new season, standards and expectations are extremely high for Eastlake. The team has overcome adversity in the past, but will face an extreme test in the 2023 as they face so many changes.