This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It looks like Larry Wilson is hanging up the headset.After 40 years of coaching, the Herriman High School football coach announced his retirement in a letter posted on the Herriman Mustang football Facebook page Thursday afternoon.In the letter addressed to "players, parents and friends of Herriman football," Wilson said the decision to step away came after he and his wife took time to reflect on the situation at hand. He wrote that a year and a half ago, he and his son Jeff, who is the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Herriman, violated the "State of Utah nepotism law." He wrote that possible punishment would include the two not being able to be in the same building effective June 2014.After discussing the matter with Herriman Principal James Birch, Wilson came to the conclusion that "there was no alternative to the rule, unless Jeff was assigned to another school.""Basically at that point, I knew that my days were numbered and it then became a question of when and how," Wilson wrote. "Due to a myriad of factors, including financial, insurance, future home, etc., we decided that now was the best time to retire."Wilson wrote that Herriman will tab former Hunter High School head coach Dustin Pearce as the next man to lead the Mustang program, also saying that Pearce was a finalist for the Herriman job when Wilson was hired three years ago. "This was quite a coup for us," Wilson explained of being able to hire Pearce. He said allowing Pearce and his staff to have a full off-season to work with the players was essential in keeping the program among the upper echelon of 4A football programs. Herriman had its best season in its short three-year history in 2012, winning a share of the Region 7 crown and finishing 8-3. The Mustangs went 20-14 during Wilson's tenure at the helm."It goes without saying that I will always be here for you, I don't need any title to continue caring for each and every one of you boys and will always do whatever I can for you, both now and in the future," Wilson wrote in a message to his players. —Chris Kamranickamrani@sltrib.comTwitter: @chriskamrani