Organ Mountain football hires former Bishop Gorman coach Kenneth Sanchez
LAS CRUCES - The Organ Mountain football team hasn't been to the playoffs since 2016.
The school announced the hiring of a former MaxPreps National Coach of the Year on Wednesday. Former Bishop Gorman coach Kenneth Sanchez will replace Steve Castille, who stepped down after four seasons as head coach.
"I'm excited and I think the kids are looking forward to it," OMHS athletic director Dennis Padilla said. "A big name like this hopefully gets the kids and parents excited.
"Our other sports have excelled. I think the missing piece is getting the football team up there. It really starts the school season off on a positive note."
Padilla said Sanchez's first day is April 11 and that he will have a full time teaching position at the school by next year. Padilla said Sanchez is a certified physical education teacher.
Sanchez is the brother of former Bishop Gorman and UNLV head coach Tony Sanchez, who started his coaching career at Organ Mountain in 1998 after his playing career at New Mexico State, where he is currently in his second year as the Aggies wide receivers coach.
Kenneth Sanchez spent 11 years at Bishop Gorman, joining his brother as the defensive coordinator in 2009. Bishop Gorman emerged as a regional and national brand with Tony Sanchez leaving in 2015 to become the head coach at UNLV.
Sanchez replaced his brother as the head coach at Bishop Gorman in 2015 and went 65-8 with four straight state titles from 2015-2018. He was named the MaxPreps National Coach of the Year in 2016.
Kenneth Sanchez started 30-0 as head coach at Bishop Gorman, where he was also Dean of Students. His teams were 13-2, 11-3 and 11-2 in his final three seasons.
While Sanchez has been wildly successful on the field, his two previous head coaching jobs ended somewhat abruptly.
In 2017, Sanchez was acquitted of a domestic violence charge. Sanchez was suspended by the school following the charge by an ex-girlfriend, who later testified in court that she fabricated the story.
Sanchez returned to the sidelines and his role as Dean of Students, but resigned in 2020 after 11 years at the school.
Sanchez was hired at Menendez High School in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2020, but was fired after two games following a reported altercation involving Sanchez, a parent and the athletic director at the school.
Sanchez was hired at Sarasota High in Florida in 2021 as the Director of Football Operations.
"We looked at all of the candidates and when human resources cleared him, we moved forward with our candidates," Padilla said. "We felt that we would give (Sanchez) and opportunity to interview. We had five excellent candidates and (Sanchez) has a great track record not only as a head coach but as an assistant with his brother."
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Organ Mountain football hires former Bishop Gorman coach Kenneth Sanchez
