Meet the new WIAA Class 2A football coaching hires: Adam Fisher returns to East Valley of Spokane

A familiar face is headed back to the sidelines this fall leading the East Valley of Spokane football program.

Adam Fisher returns to the Knights after stepping down following the 2017 season.

Fisher said he's calling his return, "Round 2!."

"It's a little different perspective having had some time off and, hopefully, I'm going in with a little more patience than I had at the end of round one," he said.

Having spent the past five years away from coaching football, Fisher said he was immediately interested in returning once the job opened up again, but he wouldn't do it without some of his previous assistants.

They answered the call and just like that, Fisher - the son of legendary South Kitsap coach Ed Fisher - had his staff ready to go if he were offered the job.

"I wanted to make sure (previous assistants) were on board first because if not, then the answer was no," Fisher said. "That was the first piece and then the dominos started to align."

An East Valley team that went 1-9 in 2022 might not jump off the page, but Fisher said he gets to start from ground zero in 2023.

The first step is getting the kids excited to play football again.

"As coaches we've got the right guys on board the ship, but the next piece is getting kids out," Fisher said. "We're trying to get more people on board for that success and I think that starts with having the right people and showing your commitment through actions."

Improving the win total from 2022 is an obvious goal, but with decades of coaching experience behind him, Fisher knows it's going to take some time to get the team playing at a competitive level again.

"We're not as fast as we need to be or as strong as we need to be, but that will come over time," Fisher said. "You can't put the cart in front of the horse. You start worrying about the Xs and Os, but that's not where we are right now."

Other offseason Class 2A coaching hires:

JOE AVILA, Burlington-Edison

The Tigers didn't look far for their new coach following Andy Olson's resignation. Avila, a longtime assistant, is up next looking to lead Burlington-Edison back to the playoffs in the competitive Northwest Conference. Burlington-Edison finished 4-6 overall last season and 2-5 in its league.

RYAN COLE, Rogers of Spokane

Another former assistant getting a promotion, Cole is taking over a Pirates' program that finished 4-6 last season, but saw progress from where it had been years prior. A Week 2 win over Medical Lake last year was Rogers' first win since 2019 and eighth in the last eight seasons.

WYATT EVENSON, White River

A 2008 graduate of Shadle Park, Evenson is returning to Washington state after being the offensive coordinator at Park City High School in Utah. Evenson's other coaching stops include Shadle Park, Bellingham and Mount Vernon. Evenson takes over for Kenny Pirone, who stepped down following the 2022 season.

WILLIAM GARROW, Tumwater

Garrow will be just the fifth coach in program history at Tumwater after spending the last four seasons as an assistant with the Thunderbirds. Before joining Tumwater's staff, Garrow was the coach at North Thurston for three years and an assistant at Steilacoom for eight years.

ADAM MCSHANE, Lakewood

McShane is making the move up north to Arlington after spending the last four seasons as an assistant at White River. A Blaine graduate in 2015, McShane played college football at Pacific Lutheran and replaces 17-year Lakewood coach Dan Teeter. Guiding the Cougars in the Northwest Conference will be McShane's first go at leading a program.

DEWAYNE PATTERSON, Columbia River

Patterson is stepping into his first job at the helm of a program, but has spent the last eight years at Columbia River as an assistant. Originally from California, Patterson played college football at Washington State and went on to play in the Indoor Arena League before stepping into coaching.

GIO PEREZ-CHAVOYA SR., Evergreen of Seattle

The Wolverines haven't had a winning season since 2007, and are turning the reins over to Perez-Chavoya, who is a teacher at the school. He will replace Zachary Hermsen after five seasons. Perez-Chavoya is the former coach at Foster High School and has spent time as a coordinator in the junior-college ranks.