OGDEN — Erik Thompson is handing over the reins. The 21-year coaching veteran announced he’ll be stepping down as Ogden High’s head football coach nearly four years after receiving his ALS diagnosis in 2021.

An Instagram post Saturday on an account run by his wife, Skye, detailed her husband’s decision to step aside from his post as head coach but remain involved with the team in some capacity. Thompson previously retired from teaching during the 2023-24 school year.

“He has men in place that will continue to run the program like he does,” the post reads. “But this will be his last year as head coach. We had all hoped for many years more but Ogden is in good hands and he will still be there to help.”

Thompson led Ogden to a 7-4 finish during his final season at the helm, bringing his seven-year career with the Tigers to 38-51 and his career coaching mark to 117-111. Ogden won two consecutive first-round playoff games and delivered a 42-6 victory against Union in what would become Thompson’s final home game on Oct. 25.

Matt Herp, Standard-Examiner file photo

Ogden plans to make the head coaching position available publicly with much of the current staff presumably in the running. Multiple coaches indicated that assistants Brogan Poll (offensive coordinator), Terry Larsen (defensive coordinator) and Ross Arnold (RB/LB coach) are set to return next season.

Thompson arrived at Ogden in 2017 after leaving a head coaching position of 13 years at Northridge to overhaul a Tigers program that hadn’t seen a win in three seasons. Poll followed his former coach over from Northridge where he played center and defensive end.

“I was one year out of high school and I was at home when I heard he’d taken the job,” Poll said.

“I called him to talk about it and he wanted me to come in and help out with the offensive line,” he continued. “He told me, ‘Hey, it’s going to be hard, but I think this is something that we really go and turn around and do a lot of good things for Ogden. As soon as I heard it was going to be hard, I figured this (was) going to be a good endeavor … That’s what sold me on it.”

SARAH WELLIVER, Standard-Examiner file photo

In just two seasons, Ogden achieved a winning record for the first time since 2009.

Thompson helped the Tigers seek out two winning seasons before he began noticing complications that ultimately led to his diagnosis. In the Instagram post, the Thompson family illustrated how essential each individual around the program is to Erik’s mission.

“Everyone who has ever been around this group and their kids knows it’s different than any other football program,” the post reads. “They love each other. Most of the kids don’t have anything. They have hard home lives. They show up for their teammates and this is their FAMILY, Forget About Me I Love You.”

Staff continuity was a major pillar in Thompson’s decision to return for a seventh season, even if that meant splitting playcalling duties with Poll on the field and Thompson in the press box. Poll has served on Thompson’s staff since 2017; Arnold, completing his third season, previously coached alongside Thompson as an assistant at Fremont.

“Erik’s the same person every single day,” said Arnold, who is also the school’s athletic director. “He doesn’t scream and yell. He doesn’t attack or demean kids. He just talks to them. He still holds them accountable, but he talks to them and he loves them … In three years, I never heard Erik complain about having ALS.”

PATRICK CARR, Standard-Examiner

The program’s upward curve into the 2020s shared the backdrop with Thompson’s diagnosis, documented in a 35-minute short film screened publicly at the Ogden High School auditorium ahead of the 2024 season. A tribute game deemed “Erik Thompson Night” raised around $20,000 for Thompson and his family in 2021.

A postseason banquet celebrating the season and Thompson’s accomplishments is set for early December.

Attempts to reach Thompson this week were not immediately successful.

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.