FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville football coach Daryl Patton, who led the program to four state championships since 2007, resigned his position Thursday.
Patton, whose teams won state titles in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2015 and had two other state runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2014, informed players of his resignation during a team meeting, citing "personal and family reasons."
Bulldogs Under Patton
Season^Record
2003^9-2 (conference champion)
2004^7-4
2005^9-3
2006^9-3
2007^9-3-1 (7A state champions)
2008^5-6
2009^5-5-1
2010^10-4 (7A runner-up)
2011^12-2 (7A state champion)
2012^10-3 (7A state champion)
2013^8-3
2014^11-3 (7A runner-up)
2015^12-2 (7A state champion)
"We are grateful to Coach Patton for his work in building our football program, winning the first football state championships in school history, and setting the stage for Fayetteville High School to be football powerhouse," Fayetteville superintendent Dr. Paul Hewitt said. "We wish him well in his future endeavors and thank him for his outstanding work here. He will be missed."
Patton came to Fayetteville prior to the 2003 season from his alma mater, Bryant. He posted a 116-43-2 record with the Purple Bulldogs and was named state coach of the year in 2007 and 2011 and 7A coach of the year four times. He also served as a coach of the International Bowl USA vs. Canada in 2015.
Fayetteville has named offensive coordinator Benji Mahan as interim coach for the remainder of the school year. A timetable to name the next head coach has not been determined, Fayetteville Athletic Director Steve Janski said.
"We'll be pulling our resources together in the next couple of days to figure out what our best course of action will be in terms of our next coach," Janski said.
Patton did not respond to calls or personal text messages for comment.
The Bulldogs won the 7A state title last season, defeating Springdale Har-Ber 28-7 to cap a 12-2 season. Fayetteville would be a considerable favorite to repeat this coming season, led by highly recruited quarterback Taylor Powell.
"It's hard to put into words what Coach Patton means to our football program," Janski said. "He basically built it from the ground up. His contributions to our football program have been seen not only on the scoreboard, but in state titles and the young men that he interacts with on a daily basis."
Before entering coaching, Patton was a quarterback at Missouri State from 1986-1988 and Central Arkansas in 1990.
Patton guided Bryant to a 34-20 record in five seasons (1998-2002).
Under Patton, Fayetteville became one of the top high school football programs in the state. Fayetteville had never won a state championship in football until Patton led the Bulldogs to the 7A title in 2007, his fifth season at the school.
Patton coached 53 players at Fayetteville who played college football. Brandon Allen was a three-year starter at quarterback at Arkansas in 2013-2015 while his brother Austin is the Razorbacks' No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart after spring practice. Also, Patton coached current Razorback linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Brooks Ellis and tight end Cheyenne O'Grady.
Sports on 05/13/2016