Aiden Ott is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover high school football for AZPreps365.com

A change of scenery for Bob Young was not going to stop his reign of success in the Grand Canyon Region and the state of Arizona. After spending 30 years coaching football at Mingus Union High School, he has found himself leading his old rival, Bradshaw Mountain High School.

In his 30-year run at Mingus, Young led the Marauders to three state championship appearances, capturing the title in 1997. Young also collected 20 region championships during his tenure.

“We had about a 20-year run where we were dominant in the region,” Young said.

But like all things in life, everything must come to an end. After the 2017 season Young decided to leave Mingus after having issues with administration.

“When I left Mingus, I thought I was done being a head coach,” he said.

Young moved to Phoenix and took an assistant coach position for Notre Dame Prep. In that 2018 season, they finished the year 14-1, falling in the state championship to Centennial. After just one season at the prep school, he moved again.

“My wife doesn't really like Phoenix,” he said jokingly.

Young, wanting to be a little closer to home, took over as the head coach at Sedona Red Rock High School for the 2019 season. However, after that season, Sedona discontinued its football program due to a lack of players.

Then, an unexpected turn – Bradshaw Mountain's head coach Chuck Moller died from a heart attack on May 25, 2020, opening up the head coaching position for his former rival.

“I told my wife I think I’m going to go for that job,” Young reminisced. “I was fortunate enough to get it, and here I am.”

Along with his hard-nosed style of coaching, he brought along his right-hand man, Neil Dixon, who has been Young’s defensive coordinator for nearly 30 years.

Rebuilding a program was not unfamiliar territory for these two, as they know what it takes to be successful.

“When he took the head job, we just kind of fit,” Dixon said. “We were both willing to work 12-15 hours a day and do whatever it took to win.”

And bringing success to Bradshaw is what they did. In his six years as the head coach of the Bears, Young had a record of 40-23, capturing three region titles, including back-to-back runs in 2021-2022, and five straight playoff appearances.

“Success is going to follow him wherever he goes because you are not going to outcoach him,” Dixon said. “There's not a coach in the state that's going to outcoach him anyway.”

Building this program to what it is today did not happen overnight and it took time to rebuild the culture. In his first year at the helm, during a shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, the Bears finished the season 3-4.

“There were a lot of things that we had to come in and clean up, and it took us a couple years to do that,” Young said.

But it did not take long to get things back on track after that. The Bears posted a 7-4 record in 2021, capturing the program's first region title since 2016.

"The 2021 season marked a turning point, as Bradshaw became a team with a target on its back,” said Grady Rose, Bears quarterback from 2020-2022.

Rose was at Bradshaw Mountain when Young took over, and he saw the beginning of this five-year stretch of success, helping lead the Bears to back to back region titles.

A shift in the culture played a big part in the new way of Bradshaw football. Not only teaching its players how to play football, but also how to be good people.

“Coach Young led by example in everything he did. His work ethic, discipline, and consistency made a lasting impression on me,” Rose said. “He instilled values of hard work, perseverance, and accountability that extend far beyond football.”

Building a family-like culture is an important part of Young's philosophy. He does this by creating traditions for his teams and players. Some big, some small, and some even going a little too far.

Young’s daughter, Briana, recalls how the Mingus football team made it a tradition to egg their house every Halloween. She reminisced about how Young would prepare the house for battle. One year, the battle concluded with two of the biggest players picking up Young and throwing him in a truck bed full of manure.

“I’d say they won the battle that year,” Briana laughed.

Young brought many of his traditions to Bradshaw Mountain to help build the culture he envisioned when taking over the program.

“One of my favorite traditions was during the playoffs, when Coach Young would dress up and perform a dance each week,” Rose said. “The first time he did it during our initial playoff run was unforgettable — it brought energy and excitement to the team and showed his personality off the field.”

While Young is most known for his football coaching, he also coaches baseball. Young played Division I baseball at Arizona State University. However, during his junior year, he suffered an injury that sidelined him.

“I transitioned from a player to a student manager…that’s really where I picked up on my coaching,” Young said.

After all, baseball led Young going to Mingus. He was hired as the head baseball coach in 1986, then took the head football coaching job a few years later. In his time there, Mingus baseball captured two state championships and 17 region titles.

Since joining the Bradshaw Mountain baseball program as an assistant coach, he has been a part of five straight playoff teams, including multiple appearances to the Elite Eight, and one appearance to the Final Four.

He helped coach the team that captured back-to-back region titles in 2022-2023, finishing with a record of 31-5 during the regular season those two years.

Between his commitments to football and baseball, Young does not have much of an offseason. Most of his summer is consumed with 7-on-7 tournaments and various football camps.

“I don’t have a lot of free time,” he joked. “Pretty boring — I don’t hunt, I don’t golf. As soon as I became a head coach I gave everything up because I knew if I was going to be good at this, I gotta give that other stuff up.”

Young is still admired by those close to him, and he is known as a family man outside of sports.

“At home, he’s just Dad, and Mom is in charge,” Briana joked.

When he does get the chance for relaxation, he loves to spend time with his family and his dogs. During his few weeks off throughout the year, his favorite thing to do is travel with his wife.

Young has been able to continue his run of success even with the change of scenery. He did not do it alone, but his hard work and commitment have been the key factors to the success he has brought to Bradshaw.

“There’s no distractions for him,” Dixon said. “That's why he is so successful; he’s 100% in.”

Moving forward, Young and the Bears aim to continue their streak of dominance in the Grand Canyon Region, and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“Coach Young is someone who will be very difficult to replace when the time comes,” Rose said. “He built a culture based on toughness, discipline, and consistency, and he set a standard that will continue to impact Bradshaw Mountain football for years to come.”