'Never crossed my mind': Longtime Gonzaga Prep football coach Dave McKenna inducted into state coaches association hall of fame
May 14—When he retired from coaching football in 2024, Dave McKenna said that he "bleeds blue," referring to the primary color of the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups. While it's not literally true, perhaps no one exemplifies the positive qualities of "legacy" more than the man who has dedicated his life's work to the institution he calls home. And though he didn't get into coaching for accolades, McKenna will receive them anyway this weekend when he is inducted into the Washington State Football Coaches Association hall of fame — along with Mike Morgan of Colfax, Eric Kurle (Graham-Kapowsin, Bethel, Clover Park), and KC Johnson (Ilwaco, Shorecrest, Adna) — at their annual awards luncheon on Sunday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton.
"I got into coaching a long, long, long time ago. Never. That never, ever crossed my mind," McKenna said last week from his Dean of Students office at Gonzaga Prep.
"And when you get a phone call that says, 'Hey, you're going to go in the Hall of Fame,' it is pretty amazing, almost surreal. But I am very honored. I mean, it's as I tell people, if you surround yourself with good people, good things are going to happen.
"And I had great people around me, whether it's administrators, coaches, players, families. Obviously, my own family has been very supportive, so I'm blessed that way. " McKenna came to G-Prep during the fall of 1984 as a freshman.
His father graduated from the school in 1953 and his grandfather before that in 1929. McKenna is one of 12 children — 10 of whom went to Gonzaga Prep. He was the backup quarterback on the 1986 championship team under legendary coach Don Anderson.
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