There were signs that Jake Nelson was going to leave.

Even before the end of the season, principal Rusty Taylor said, Nelson had told the school it was a possibility he wouldn't come back to coach the Thunder football program for a fourth season. And although the school hoped he would come back, they ultimately accepted his decision to spend more time with his family.

"He didn't want us to be blindsided," Taylor said. "What it comes down to is Jake has been a coach for a long time, and he's ready to take a break."

So Desert Hills will have to go on without Nelson, who built the program up to take the Thunder to the 3A title game in only their fourth year of existence. Whoever takes over could find themselves in a large shadow, but at the same time with a good foundation of success in a developing area.

There's also the draw of virtually a wide-open coaching search at this point. Desert Hills won't officially begin combing resumes and conducting interviews until Jan. 23 — the school district is still working on securing a teaching position for the opening — but the administration is collecting information and trying to be open-minded about the criteria.

"We're going to go with who's best for our boys — it may be someone with 20 years of experience, or it may be a brand new head coach," Taylor said. "The one thing we're looking for is someone who is more concerned with our boys than winning and losing. That was Jake's philosophy, and we'd like it to continue."

The administration hopes to hire a head coach by Feb. 10. Interested applicants can apply through the Washington County School District.

• Also down south but not in Utah, a football head coaching job has opened up at Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite. Interested applicants can e-mail athletic director Kevin Hess at khess@interact.ccsd.net.

— Kyle Goon

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon