Keegan Hill resigns as Mendota football coach

The Mendota football program will have a new head coach next season.

Keegan Hill has resigned after eight seasons leading the Trojans.

Hill was 11-56 with a Class 3A playoff appearance in the fall 2021 season with a 5-5 record. Mendota was 3-6 in 2022 but was 1-26 over the past three seasons.

Hill took over a program that had gone 14-41 in the six seasons prior to his arrival.

“Coach Hill came in and brought his brand of football and his culture to the program,” said Mendota athletic director Brock Zinke, who also is an assistant football coach. “He was a coach who cared about his players more than I think anybody I’ve ever been around. He put in a ton of time and effort. Unfortunately, coaches are judged by wins and losses and he didn’t have enough wins.”

Hill will still be the school’s boys track and field coach this spring and remains a teacher at the school but Zinke said he didn’t know what Hill’s plans are moving forward.

Zinke said the school is currently taking applications and has “had a little interest so far.” Zinke said no one from the current football staff has expressed interest in the position.

“I think we just have to get somebody in here to bring a positive culture, excite the players and work with the feeder programs and continue to build on the things that coach Hill was trying to accomplish,” Zinke said. “That’s all we can ask for, somebody who is going to work really hard, connect with the kids, get them excited about playing and try to make them as competitive as we can be.”