9/19/2009
By BOB DAVIDSON/Salina Journal
Dave Dunham's tenure as head football coach at Salina South High School lasted just three games.

Dunham abruptly stepped down as the Cougars' coach Friday afternoon. Assistant coach Sam Sellers was named interim head coach.

"Coach Dunham submitted his resignation and we accepted it," South athletics director Ken Stonebraker said Friday night.

Stonebraker would not discuss specifics of the resignation.

"This was Dave's decision. You'd have to talk to him for the reasons why," Stonebraker said.

Attempts to contact Dunham were unsuccessful Friday night. He did not return voice messages left on his cellphone.

Stonebraker said no decision has been made on the process for selecting a new coach -- the Cougars' fifth in two years, if Sellers isn't the choice.

"All I can say is he submitted his resignation, we accepted it and that's where we're at," he said. "Obviously we will work through our board of education in determining where we go from here.

"We want to thank coach Dunham for his years of service to South High and South High football."

Asked if Dunham's resignation was a surprise, Stonebraker replied, "Maybe a little bit."

Dunham served as South's defensive coordinator from 1997-2003 and again in 2008. He replaced Chip Sherman as South's head coach in April, when Sherman departed after one season to take the head coaching position at Shawnee Mission East.

"We think coach Dunham can provide some continuity, and after coach Sherman got us going in the right direction, coach Dunham can keep this rolling," Stonebraker said of Dunham's hiring in April.

South is 1-2 on the season after losing to Blue Valley Northwest 27-9 Thursday night in Overland Park -- the Cougars' second consecutive loss. South lost at home to Hutchinson 41-6 Sept. 11, after opening the season with a 54-16 rout of Arkansas City on Sept. 4 at Salina Stadium.

Sellers, a South graduate and former player, is in his ninth season as an assistant and coaches the Cougars' offensive linemen. He was a starting offensive tackle during the 1997 and '98 seasons.

Sellers had essentially assumed the role of assistant head coach under Dunham. In addition to his coaching duties, he oversees the school's summer and after school conditioning programs, and works in the special education department as a para-professional at South High.

South's first game under Sellers will be an Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League contest next Friday at Maize.

Dunham, who was 62 years old when was hired, had 38 years of coaching experience at the high school level before taking the South job. He coached eight seasons at Bellevue, Neb., 10 seasons at McCook, Neb., nine seasons at Scott City, and two at Guymon, Okla.

Dunham had his greatest success at Scott City, where his teams reached the title game five times and won three state championships between 1988-91.

Health issues had been a concern in recent years. Dunham left South High in 2004 to become head coach at Bennington High, but a rare form of cancer forced him to resign before the start of the 2005 season.

He received a clean bill of health from doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota before accepting the South job.

In addition to coaching, Dunham is owner of Lush Lawn, a chemical lawn service.