Saguaro resumes search for football coach after new hire backs out

Scottsdale Saguaro High School is resuming its search for a head football coach, after recently hired Jason Ronquillo backed out.

Ronquillo moved to Arizona last year and served as an assistant football coach at Gilbert during the 2025 season.

He resigned as head coach at Yelm High in Washington just before the start of spring football in May 2025. He had led Yelm to a Washington state 3A football championship in 2022, building up a program that had struggled.

Reports in Washington called Ronquillo’s resignation unexpected with no explanation from Ronquillo.

The Scottsdale Unified School District announced Ronquillo’s hiring last month after a lengthy search.

On Friday, March 6, Saguaro interim Principal Lisa Hirsch sent a letter to the Saguaro football community.

“We regret to inform you that Coach Jason Ronquillo will not be joining us here at Saguaro,” the letter says.  “We appreciate the time and interest he invested in the Saguaro High School football program during the selection process. We respect his decision to step away and wish him and his family the very best. “Saguaro has a proud football tradition and a strong community of student-athletes, families, and supporters. Our focus remains on the students in the program and ensuring they have the leadership and support they deserve. “We look forward to continuing the search for the next great leader of the Sabercat football program and are confident in the bright future ahead.”

The letter said school officials planned to meet with the team on Monday.

Ronquillo did not return a message from The Arizona Republic.

This is another setback for a program that has tailspinned since winning the 6A championship in Zak Hill’s only season as head coach in 2023.

Hill, the former Arizona State offensive coordinator, followed a legacy left by Jason Mohns, who led the Sabercats to seven state championships during his 11-year run. Mohns left to join Kenny Dillingham’s staff at ASU, after leading the Sabercats to the Open Division state final in 2022.

Darius Kelly followed Hill. He was let go last year after two losing seasons. Kelly came in at a time when more than 20 players left the program, many of those starters. He also had to rebuild the coaching staff.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Saguaro searching for football coach again