Arizona HS Football Team Coached By Lovie Smith's Son (and Lovie Smith) Allegedly Kicked Their Senior QB Off The Team for Calling an Audible
This is a bit of a bizarre story. That's former senior quarterback Gunner Brewer of Desert Ridge High School.
By the looks of their record, Desert Ridge isn't an especially formidable high school football team. They're 2-6, coming off back-to-back losses of 50-0 to the Corona del Sol Aztecs, and 49-7 to the Red Mountain Lions (Arizona high schools have fun names. I like how Red Mountain goes double mountain).
However, before those two thumpings, Desert Ridge grabbed their second win of the season, beating Cienega 14-12. That was the last game Gunner Brewer played. Because on the final play of the game, Gunner called an audible. Instead of running the play his coach called (a play meant for Gunner Brewer himself), he audibled to a run for his running back. His running back picked up the first down. Desert Ridge won the game.
According to reports, that audible directly resulted in Gunner Brewer being kicked off the team. The following Monday, head coach Miles Smith (son of former NFL HC Lovie Smith) told Gunner that his audible had disrespected him, and his season was over. Pack up your shit, you're no longer a part of this football team.
Naturally, that became a big story in the world of Arizona high school football. Cutting a QB for calling a successful audible sure seems extreme. It seems like a fine reason to bench him, or perhaps make him run a bunch of suicides next practice. But cutting your senior quarterback for calling an audible... which was allegedly something Gunner Brewer had previously been encouraged to do under a former OC who was fired just last month.
WEAU 13 – “Basically called the play, trusted my running back behind me who scored a touchdown, definitely was rolling with him,” Brewer said. “The play was originally called for me, but I definitely wanted him to run the ball and get us the first down to basically seal the game.”
Brewer said changing the play at the line was something he had been allowed to do under his previous offensive coordinator, who was fired at the end of September.
After Gunner Brewer was dismissed, 12 of his teammates stood up for him. They told the coaches they disagreed with his decision. As a result, those 12 players were also suspended for the rest of the season.
The following Monday, Brewer said 12 other players told coaches they disagreed with the decision. Those players were suspended for the rest of the season, Brewer said.
“They definitely had my back, and I have theirs 100 percent,” Brewer said. “When they did that, I stood right by them.”
It sounds like this wasn't the first time Gunner Brewer (and possibly his other teammates) had butted heads with the coaching staff. Gunner Brewer's mother spoke with the media following her son's dismissal, and she cited a time when Gunner was benched for a quarter after arriving "30 seconds late" to a team meeting.
12 News – When asked whether any previous incidents between Gunner and his coaches could have contributed to his dismissal, Marie described an occasion when her son was late to a Saturday morning film session.
“Gunner was late by 30 seconds. From what everyone tells me, it's between 30 seconds and a minute to Saturday morning film,” Marie said.
We don't know what exactly happened that day, or any other day in the locker room. And I don't want to speculate on what type of player or teammate this high school kid was. So I'll leave it to you to read between the lines. But it sounds like the head coach wasn't his biggest fan. This dismissal from the team could have been brewing for a while. Either way, Gunner Brewer being kicked off the team led to a lot of questions. Reporters started showing up to the Desert Ridge football facilities. And look who stepped in between them and the team.
That's 2005 AP NFL Coach of the Year, Lovie Motherfucking Smith. What a mess he's found himself in. I'm sure he thought he'd ride off into the sunset and take a fun little assistant high school coaching job under his aspiring head coach son. And look where it got him? He's outside a high school football facility in Mesa yelling at reporters because his son just HAD to boot his QB from the team for calling an audible. All for a 2-6 football team.
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Football coaches, man. They really, really like to be in control. I'm no football coach. I wouldn't even call myself a true "football guy". But I know how the sport is played. I can't imagine a world where my quarterback calls a successful audible, and I'm so butt-hurt about it that I kick him off my team. Let your players have a little fun. Let them take the game into their own hands from time to time. I would think a coach would be thrilled that his QB recognized something in the defense and successfully changed the play at the line of scrimmage. But I guess Miles Smith doesn't see things that way.
In the two games since Gunner Brewer (along with 12 of his teammates) were kicked off the team, Desert Ridge has been outscored 99-7. The only words Gunner Brewer has had with his coaches since then, according to him, was when he was scolded for trying to help out his former teammates.
WEAU 13 – Since his dismissal, Brewer said Smith has only communicated with his mother, except for last week’s game against Ramon, when Brewer said he was told not to be around the team.
“The only word he said to me was when I tried to go help out last week’s game … [he] told me to get out … Don’t go near the field house. Don’t go near the players," Brewer said.
High school sports. They're not that serious. They're also the most serious thing in the world. Good luck with the rest of your coaching career, Miles Smith. But if your Arizona high school team is this much of a mess… you might need more than Dad on the coaching staff to save you.