Hutch Gonzales forced out as Mandeville head coach

Yesterday the new leadership at Mandeville High School asked me to resign and said they were going in a “different direction”. I have enjoyed my time here. I understand their decision, but it still stings. I appreciate all the support I’ve gotten over the past 4 years.

— Hutch Gonzales (@CoachHGonzales) April 20, 2022

Hutch Gonzales is out as head football coach at Mandeville after four seasons at the school.

Gonzales posted on Twitter Wednesday morning that he was “asked to resign” on Tuesday.

“Yesterday the new leadership at Mandeville High School asked me to resign and said they were going in a ‘different direction,’” Gonzales’ post read. “I have enjoyed my time here. I understand their decision, but it still stings.”

Speaking later Wednesday with Crescent City Sports, Gonzales said that new Mandeville principal Christian Monson’s first day on campus was Tuesday and he was informed of the change in direction.

“He has some things that we felt like were deficiencies on the campus,” Gonzales said. “He wants to make Mandeville a better place. He felt like going in a different direction would be a better thing for Mandeville High School.”

Monson is moving from his role as supervisor of administration for St. Tammany Parish Public Schools back on campus. Monson had previously been principal at Lakeshore from 2015-20.

Gonzales, 39, led the Skippers to the Class 5A quarterfinals in 2019 and 2020 before missing the playoffs in 2021.

Prior to accepting the Mandeville post, Gonzales served as head coach for one season at St. Thomas Aquinas, leading the Falcons to the Division III quarterfinals.

The former Covington High and Southeastern Louisiana wide receiver played for the New Orleans VooDoo in Arena Football and had a brief stint with Saskatchewan in the CFL.

When Gonzales’ replacement leads the Skippers onto the field this fall, he will be Mandeville’s fourth head coach in the last seven seasons.

Lakeshore coach Craig Jones, who led the Titans to the Class 4A championship game in 2017, would certainly figure to be a top candidate to replace Gonzales, based on his ties to the new principal. Jones has been head coach at Lakeshore since 2013 and was previously an assistant at Mandeville.