SANDPOINT — After high school football coach Mike Mitchell resigned from his position last year, a selection committee has been searching for a replacement.

According to committee member Tom Anderson, that search is over.

The selection committee is recommending that the school board hire Satini Puailoa as the new varsity coach. The position shouldn’t require too much of a transition — Puailoa worked as the school’s football coach from 1994 to 2004. Given his reputation for training and supporting successful teams, his willingness to resume his coaching was a fortunate development for the committee.

Although the committee considered three very worthy candidates, they were eventually won over by Puailoa’s past professional relationship with the school.

“After considering his past record and experience, we felt like those qualities made him the best choice,” Albertson said.

 Puailoa’s work since leaving the high school coaching position in 2004 didn’t hurt either.

In 2005, Puailoa appeared on the ESPN reality show “Bound For Glory,” in which famed NFL linebacker Dick Butkus coached a small, down-on-its-luck high school football team toward the playoffs.

After his television appearance, he traveled the country hosting performance training seminars and coaching clinics.

“I’ve really never stopped coaching,” Puailoa said.

Now that Puailoa has officially accepted the selection committee’s offer, all that remains is to acquire board approval. After he steps into the role, he aims to focus on improving stats and performance against larger schools.

According to Puailoa, the last SHS team he coached averaged 45 points and 550 yards game and served as a goal for the coming years.

“We’d like to get back to that point,” he said.