A parent of a player on the Mesa Desert Ridge's football team confirmed to The Arizona Republic that head coach Miles Smith, with his father Lovie, resigned from the program.
"My son called me while in practice that both coaches resigned," said the parent, who asked not to be identified.
There were multiple reports on social media Monday evening, Oct. 19, reporting Smith resigned earlier in the day.
Dawn Mackay, chief communications and community engagement officer for Gilbert Public Schools, told The Republic in an email on Monday night that they were "unable to comment as no official resignation has been received."
This was the first day back from fall break for the Gilbert Public Schools.
Smith did not respond to a text message from the Arizona Republic. Principal Scott Smith has not returned an email from The Republic, regarding Smith.
A controversy began Oct. 5, when Smith dismissed starting quarterback Gunner Brewer from the team. Brewer told The Republic that the dismissal stemmed from changing a play in the Oct. 2 Vail Cienega game without Smith's permission.
Smith and athletic director Kevin Swann never responded to The Republic to provide their side of what happened.
On Oct. 7, a meeting was held with the players regarding Brewer's dismissal and a player stood up and asked for those who wanted Brewer back on the team to raise their hand. A group of players did so. When that happened, a coach told them if they didn't like the decision, they could leave.
After that, 12 players walked out of the meeting, but they were hoping to return to the team. They were then suspended from the team for the rest of the season.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, The Arizona Republic tried to cover Desert Ridge's home game against Tempe Corona del Sol, but was denied access by the school. The Jaguars lost 50-0.
The Republic has also reached out to Gilbert Public Schools athletic director Steve McDowell, seeking confirmation and comment on Smith stepping down.
Desert Ridge (2-6) plays at Gilbert Highland on Friday, Oct. 23.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Desert Ridge football coach Miles Smith resigns amid controversy