Longtime Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl coaxed out of retirement to lead football program again

Gradwohl, who retired last winter after 28 seasons, is back after first-year coach Bill Marsh's sudden midseason resignation

John Gradwohl, who retired last winter after 28 seasons of coaching Edmonds-Woodway football, is back to finish out 2024. / Photo by Guy Kovacs

Eleven days ago, John Gradwohl was on the Olympia Peninsula with his wife, Margie - enjoying life away from a long stint coaching football.

He has stepped down at Edmonds-Woodway High School last winter after 28 seasons where he won 170 games, leading the program to back-to-back Class 4A semifinal appearances in 2006 and 2007.

Gradwohl was fully ready to soak in retirement from the sport ... until on that Friday, he received a phone call from school athletic director Tyler Geving after new coach Bill Marsh unexpectedly resigned after five games.

"I was at a wedding when I got the call, asking if I would step in for the final five weeks of the season," Gradwohl said.

Gradwohl was going to finish out his weekend in Poulsbo ... but his wife wouldn't let him.

"She knew," Gradwohl said. "I woke up Saturday ... and she was packing for us to be on the 6:24 a.m. ferry (back to Edmonds)."

And, so, Gradwohl's return to football began.

He immediately got on the phone to ask some of his former assistants to join him. He met with current staff members to see who was interested in continuing being on the sideline.

"I had a lot of guys jumping throught a lot of hoops to do this," Gradwohl said.

Then, he met with his players Monday - many of whom he had coached during the previous season. He talked to them about what was going on, what was working schematically, then plotted a path forward.

"I told the kids there are two things you cannot worry about - yesterday and tomorrow," Gradwohl said.

Gradwohl said he kept most of the defensive concepts intact, but changed the offense.

"We kept it simple, working on execution, blocking and tackling like it was Week 1 (of preseason camp) in August," Gradwohl said. "We talked to them about hustle, and how that can make up for misses."

On Friday, the Warriors played at Shorecrest, breaking out to a lead before posting a 42-14 victory to snap a four-game skid.

And it got Gradwohl coaching victory No. 171.

"Friday was high energy, and those kids worked their tails off," said Gradwohl, who is still a teacher at the school. "But I just didn't know what would happen. It was kind of like going to a jamboree ... because you can miss a lot in four days.

"We felt good about winning. But there is a lot of room for improvement."