Ben Franz steps down after 4 seasons as Kofa football coach

Ben Franz has stepped down as Kofa’s head football coach after four seasons on the job.

Franz told Kings players of his decision last Friday after spending several months contemplating what direction to go.

“Just looking at the future and seeing what kind of career goals that I have,” Franz said of the decision-making process. “I want to start working on my Master’s degree and focus more on that kind of stuff right now.”

Franz will remain at Kofa as a government teacher and track coach.

The South Dakota native took over as Kofa’s head coach in 2014 following four seasons as an assistant, first under Kevin Moore from 2010-12 and then under John Blabe in 2013. When he inherited the program, it was coming off a 2-8 campaign and had gone just 8-33 over the last four seasons.

Though it took a few years — the Kings went 0-10 in Franz’s second season following a 3-7 2014 campaign — Franz eventually built some momentum within the program, as the 2016 season was Kofa’s best since 2008.

The Kings went 5-5 in 2016, with notable wins over Yuma High and Gila Ridge, and Franz was named a 2016-17 Yuma Sun Coach of the Year finalist. Though their record dropped to 3-7 this past season, they did play Cibola closer than they had in years (losing 36-33).

“Absolutely,” Franz said when asked if he was proud of what the team accomplished in his time. “We had a few extra wins than we had had the previous few years, and just the attitude of the team and the reputation we had in town, we took a few steps in the right direction.”

Franz said he informed his assistants after the 2017 season that he was “going to take a couple of months to reflect” and see what he wanted to do, so the move did not come as a complete surprise to those in the loop.

He officially let Kofa athletic director Tim Keller know of his decision last Wednesday before filling players in two days later.