Former Red Mountain football coach Jim Jones is expected to be named the next  head coach at Mesquite and longtime East Valley assistant Tim Rutt is expected to get the nod at Gilbert, both pending Gilbert govening board approval on Tuesday night (Feb. 12).

Jones and Rutt were listed Monday in school board documents made public as potential hires at Mesquite and Gilbert high schools.

Jones would take over for Matt Gracey, who spent two years at the helm at Mesquite before resigning at the end of last season. Rutt would assume the reins from Leland Rodgers, who was fired after one season at Gilber High.

Jones, has made previous head coaching stops at Mohave, Cortez and assisted at Westwood, spent the last three seasons assisting Rodger Schenks at San Tan Foothills. Jones was inducted into the Arizona Football Coaches Hall of Fame last spring. Jones is most noted for his 22 seasons as head coach at Red Mountain (1988-2009), where his teams captured state titles in 2000 and 2001. Current Mesquite athletic director Jason Grantham played football for Jones at Red Mountain and coached with him there as well after graduating in the mid-1990s. 

Rutt is a 1981 graduate of Corona del Sol and played football two varsity seasons for the Aztecs. He went on to play at Mesa Community College and has served as a high school assistant coach at Corona del Sol, Gilbert, Hamilton and Basha. He also assisted at Mesa Community College. Most of Rutt's tenure as an assistant took place at Hamilton between 1999-2010.