SM East set to hire five-time state champion Fred Bouchard as football coach, source says

Fred Bouchard is stepping back into the coaching ring.

Bouchard, a five-time state champion football coach in Missouri, will shift across the state line to accept the head coach position at Shawnee Mission East, a source told The Star. The move still must be approved by the Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education, which is expected to meet next week.

Bouchard is in line to replace Dustin Delaney, who resigned after the 2017 season, voicing concerns with administration. Delaney, who has since accepted a job in Colorado, led SM East to a 9-2 record last fall and a 52-8 mark over the past five years.

Bouchard last coached at Staley, where he led the program to its first state title in 2011. He stepped down from Staley after the 2015 season, relinquishing the job to defensive coordinator Phil Lite, to accept a job at the North Kansas City School District. Bouchard remains employed at the district level today.

He has coached for a total of 30 seasons, including 20 of them as a head coach at the high school level. In those 20 years, he amassed 201 victories, more than 10 per season. That’s highlighted by a decorated stint at Harrisonville High School that included four state championships in only six seasons. His teams have played in the state final six times and the semifinals twice more.

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 5:41 PM with the headline "SM East set to hire five-time state champion Fred Bouchard as football coach, source says."