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After guiding Murray to its first postseason victory since 1996 this year, Mike Richmond, who is a paraprofessional, is stepping down from his position to focus on his main career, The Tribune learned on Friday.

"I'm not in the school; I don't teach. I've got another job, and raising a family and everything else, it was getting to the point where I felt like I'm not hitting at 100 percent, and I felt like I needed to free up a little bit of time somewhere to get a balance back in my life," Richmond said. "I had an absolute blast. I thoroughly enjoyed the four years I've been here. I feel like we've got the program in right direction. We got some respect back for Murray."

Richmond exhumed a moribund program that experienced one (2004) winning season in 16 years prior to him inheriting the program in 2012. The first two seasons with Richmond in charge, Murray stumbled to a collective record of 2-17. Richmond led the program to back-to-back winning seasons, finishing 6-4 in 2014 and 7-5 this season, including upsetting Region 7's second-seeded Provo in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs before ultimately falling to then-undefeated Springville in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

"It took a couple years to get the culture changed here and to get the kids to buy into what we're doing," Richmond said. "We've been slow and steady, and now the last couple of years — making the playoffs. We're seeing the fruits of all that labor."

Richmond, a longtime Murray resident whose daughter attends the school, said he'd consider helping the program in a decreased capacity depending on who the administration decides to hire.

"The future looks good. There's some good things going on here, and if we get the right coach in here, which I'm sure the administration will do — we've got some belief back in the community," Richmond said. "... Football is in my blood. If I can help out — I don't have the amount of time that I've given in the past — but if it's behind the scenes a little bit, or working with the quarterbacks or on Friday nights — I definitely have the love and passion to continue to help with Murray."

— Trevor Phibbs

Twitter: @trevorphibbs