Firing of Colorado coaching legend — also Broncos’ radio voice — ignites town
Mullen (Colorado) High School's Dave Logan is one of the most successful football coaches in state history. In his 19-year coaching career, the current radio voice of the Denver Broncos has won six state titles, including four at Mullen since he took over in 2003. But despite Logan's sterling record, he was suddenly fired by school officials.
So what caused the LaSallian Catholic school to suddenly hand the coaching legend a pink slip? To be honest, nobody in the community is sure. As the Denver Post reported, Logan was let go after officials determined they wanted a full-time coach who "was more in tune with the school's mission" to run the football program in the future.
While Logan is reportedly Methodist and splits his time between being a part-time administrator and radio voice of the Denver Broncos, his busy schedule has never gotten in the way of his team.
Needless to say, word of Logan's dismissal spread like a wildfire, as current and former players banded together to a sign petition, demanding the immediate ousting of Ryan Clement, the school's president and CEO, and principal Jim Gmelich be fired, and the reinstatement of Logan.
"Everybody's shocked. Everybody's mad," Mustangs senior receiver Guy Johnson told the Denver Post. "To publicly humiliate such a good person and fire somebody for, as far as we know, no apparent reason is crazy to me."
Donors at the school, who reportedly give five figure donations, are also considering disassociating themselves with the school, in a move that could have serious repercussion on Mullen's yearly cash flow.
While you can understand a school wanting a full-time administrator, it's clear nobody in the community had a problem with Logan's part-time status. But it appears there may be more to this story than just part-time status and being in tune with the school's mission.
The Denver Post reported on Monday that rumors are already swirling that the main reason school officials wanted Logan ousted in the first place was so Clement could take a role on the coaching staff.
Then came Friday's revelation that Clement and others within the administration tried to push three coaches onto Logan's staff. That included the hope of installing Clement as QB coach (something Clement has denied, though multiple sources close to the program vehemently hold as true).
Based on the outrage in the community and the rumors going around, there's a good chance this situation won't be ending anytime soon. Quite honestly, this whole story sounds like something straight out of a "Friday Night Lights" episode.
Whether Clement really wanted to be on the staff or not, his reason for firing Logan is questionable at best. It's safe to say this story won't have a very happy ending for Mullen officials.
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