Available for hire: long-time high school football coach, winner of four state championships, coached future Power 5 college and NFL players. Requirements: must be a district that demands accountability, values competitiveness, communication and tradition. Contact: Gino Mariani, former head football coach at Highland High School.

When the last straw broke the camel's back and the relationship between Gino Mariani and the Highland High School administration earlier this summer, Mariani made it clear that he was not done coaching football. He issued a statement to that effect, and he's received a lot of interest from other schools since then. Now recovering from back surgery, Mariani has had a few weeks to reflect on the first summer in 40 years that he hasn't had to be involved in some football-related activity. He says he's kind of enjoyed the freedom, but it's also clear that he's itching to get back to coaching. The 56-year-old former

Idaho State quarterback whose coaching career includes stints at Pocatello High School (1990-2000) and Highland (2001 to this summer) says he's willing to serve as an outside advisor to high school programs in the area, not wanting to come in and "step on toes" of existing staff. Long-term, he'd like to get an opportunity at Idaho State, or maybe another high school program that's looking for a head coach. This year, he will finish his teaching career at Highland and looking for "the right situation" to continue that coaching career.

Highland became no longer the "right situation" after a philosophical rift between Mariani and the Highland administration became no longer tolerable to the coach. "There were a lot of issues that were not fixable," he said during a recent interview. "At least, things that I can't fix. It was a top-down situation."

In fairness to the Highland administration, I gave Travis Bell, the Highland athletic director, a chance to respond to Mariani's concerns. Bell said his philosophy for supporting the football program, and the athletic department as a whole, at Highland has not changed over the years. He believes there is plenty of support for Mariani's successor, Nick Sorrell, and the current coaching staff, and that they will continue to be competitive.

One thing that concerns Mariani was the decision by the school district to move the local high school football games out of ISU's Holt Arena and onto outdoor fields near high school campuses. In Mariani's view, that eliminates a big advantage for the local schools, especially come playoff time when the weather has a tendency to turn inclement. For a passing-oriented offense like Highland's, having a guarantee of "perfect conditions" late in the season was a big plus.

Bell acknowledged that was a decision made by the school district, not the Highland administration, and he said there has been a long tie between the athletes in the district and Holt Arena. Still, he noted, the move away from Holt Arena took a significant boost when the arena was not available to the high school programs during the COVID pandemic, and there are other factors that led the district to begin moving toward permanently moving toward on-campus facilities.

In any event, as Mariani cuts his ties to the historic Rams program, he can look back on those four state championships, great players like Taysom Hill, Tristen Hoge, Tommy Togiai and Wayne Kirby, and the relationships he built with students, faculty and staff at not only Highland, but also Pocatello.

"Watching the players and students go on to be successful in life is very rewarding," Mariani said, citing as one example Doug Chambers, now the CEO of Lookout Credit Union, who played basketball at Pocatello when Mariani talked him into going out for the football team. "I thought he'd be a great tight end," Mariani recalled. "Two weeks in he broke his tibia and that was the end of his football career. But he still had the drive to go on and be successful in life.

"During my surgery, there were nurses and RNs that I taught and coached," he added. "That is awesome."

But there were also awfully good football players that Mariani has been privileged to coach as well. Probably the most impactful of those was former Rams quarterback Taysom Hill, who is now a backup quarterback/all purpose offensive weapon for the New Orleans Saints. Hill, who graduated from Highland in 2009, may be the best all around athlete Highland has ever produced. That versatility actually convinced Mariani to change his offense from the West Coast orientation of quick, short passing to a spread formation that allowed Hill to use his legs and his arm.

Hill, who originally signed with Stanford out of high school, but then transferred to Brigham Young University after an LDS Mission, was also the athlete who first started attracting national recruiting attention to southeastern Idaho. His presence led to the creation of the Rocky Mountain Rumble, a multigame event at Holt Arena that matched top Idaho high school football teams with those from other western states. When Hill was a senior, the Rams took on Grant Union High School from Sacramento, Calif., which was ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time.

"Taysom had a phenomenal attitude," Mariani said. "He would light up a room verbally, physically. When he spoke, the other kids listened. They believed in what he was doing. We all did."

Hill's recruitment opened the door for national interest in other Rams players like Tristen Hoge, the offensive lineman who signed with Notre Dame before transferring to BYU, and Tommy Togiai, a defensive lineman who played for Ohio State. Togiai, who comes from a close-knit Polynesian family, was a pioneer on his own, Mariani said, showing the courage to break away from southeastern Idaho and go across the country to a big-name program and not only survive, but thrive. The big defensive tackle was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns last year.

Mariani credits former Idaho State, Highland and Pocatello High School coach Jim Koetter with giving him the foundation for his coaching career. Mariani played quarterback for Koetter at Idaho State, then served as an assistant coach under him at Pocatello High.

"I learned everything from Jim Koetter," said Mariani. "I was a sponge, I took everything he taught me, then I put my own stamp on it. I learned everything I could from Jim, and that was a lot to learn."

Mariani also gives credit to the many assistant coaches he worked with over the years at Pocatello and Highland, in particular former Rams offensive line coach Warren Whitaker. A former all-Big Sky lineman at Idaho State, Whitaker "just got it," Mariani said. "He was kind of OCD about some things, he was very organized, and he just had some phenomenal offensive fronts that gave us a chance to win."

Despite the contention that led to Mariani's departure from Highland, he says he has no regrets as he looks back over his coaching career here in Pocatello. "I've had a tremendous career and I've enjoyed every second of it," he said. "I want to thank the community, the parents, the kids and the staff that I've worked with. Those are relationships I'll always cherish."

Brad Bugger has been an observer of athletics in southeastern Idaho for over 40 years, as a sportswriter, a broadcaster and a fan. You can reach him with column ideas, questions and comments at bpbugger@gmail.com.