Former Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff has a new job

Former Bellevue High School football coach Butch Goncharoff has a new job, months after the Bellevue School District placed him on paid leave.

Cedar Park Christian School in Bothell announced Monday that it has hired the former Bellevue head coach to lead its own football program.

Related: Bellevue School District considers firing Coach Goncharoff

In a statement posted on Facebook, Goncharoff said:

I have thought about coaching at a Christian School for several years. This is where I want to be. This is where I’m supposed to be. I’m excited to get started.

The new coach is expected to meet his players ion Bothell at a lunchtime meeting on Wednesday.

The Christian school’s statement also said:

Coach Goncharoff coached Bellevue High School to 11 state championships in 16 years and complied an overall record of 193-14 as head coach at the school. After a year out of high school coaching he is excited to become a part of a Christian School and looks forward to not only coaching football but, more importantly, helping build young men of character and integrity.

Gocharoff will step in for coach Bill Marsh who coached the Christian school’s football team — the Eagles — for three years.

Goncharoff leaves Bellevue

While he was head coach at Bellevue High School, the program received heavy criticism over its recruiting practices. That criticism ultimately led to an investigation by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. It found violations of various rules, and alleged an unethical relationship between the football program and a local academy. The football team’s booster club was implicated in the allegations as well.

The district also argued that Goncharoff received payments related to his position as head coach outside of the football season, which is a violation of district policy. The accusations were based on summer football camps that Goncharoff headed, and were paid for by the booster club.

The investigation and the fallout caused school parents to voice their support for the coach. The coach called the whole ordeal a “set up.”

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