Citizen Staff
Former aide to Dick Tomey and Steve Axman takes over from Anthony Coronado.
By DAVE PETRUSKA
dpetrusk@tucsoncitizen.com
Willie Dudley has played for or coached with five top Arizona football coaches.
He hopes to pass on what he has learned as the new head coach at Marana High School.
“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Dudley said. “We’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do here, but I think we can do it. We just need to get more players out for the team. The kids we have right now are really working hard.”
Dudley replaces Anthony Coronado, who resigned in March after going 14-37 in five seasons. Marana was 1-9 in 2003.
Dudley, 48, played football for and coached one season with Karl Kiefer at Tempe McClintock High School.
He later coached with Mesa Mountain View’s Jesse Parker, the University of Arizona’s Dick Tomey, Northern Arizona’s Steve Axman and Pima Community College’s Jeff Scurran.
This will be his second head coaching job. He was 5-5 in one season at Tempe Marcos de Niza.
“I’ve been fortunate to have worked with so many good coaches,” Dudley said. “I’ve learned so much from them.”