Bingham High coach Dave Peck is retiring from the program he helped turn into one of the state’s premier prep football schools.
Peck coached the Miners for 17 years over two stints, compiling a record of 169-46 and winning five state titles.
But the longtime coach said he is stepping away from the game now to spend more time with his family. For much of his second stint with the Miners, Peck lived in a condominium while his wife lived in their house in Fairview an hour and a half away.
“As you get older, you start to reflect on things and you don’t want life to pass you by and miss out on some moments. That’s the reason,” he said. “… What’s most important in my life? It’s my family.”
Peck informed his players Wednesday morning of his decision.
“It was really difficult,” he said of making his choice to retire. “The hardest part was telling the kids this morning that I wouldn’t be coming back. But it was all good — a lot of hugs and thank you. I think the program is in good shape. There are good young kids and the expectations are still there.”
Peck helped establish those expectations over the course of his career.
Early in his coaching career, Peck won a region championship at North Sanpete High School in 1984 and took Cyprus to the state tournament four of the five years he coached there in the late 1990s. Then in his first 15 years as Bingham’s head coach, Peck’s teams won 10 region championships, those five state titles, including back-to-back championships in his last two seasons, and finished second twice.
Peck left Bingham in 2015 to work as a salesman for an athletic apparel company.
In 2019, Peck was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. In early 2020, he returned to Bingham and the high school coaching ranks. The Miners went 8-4 and 7-5 in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
“There was something that was telling me that I felt like I needed to come back to Bingham,” he said. “Maybe it was just meant to get us through COVID, I don’t know. But the bottom line is now I feel I need to get out and retire and spend more time with family.”
Bingham will now begin the search for Peck’s replacement.
