Dryden to coach WHS football

The good news was almost worth a hole-in-one.

Patrick Dryden, an assistant football coach at Whitefish High School for nine seasons, accepted the head football position at the school Tuesday afternoon while golfing at Whitefish Lake Golf Course with former WHS head coach Mike Ferda.

Dryden was offered the promotion by WHS Activities Director Megan Olson.

"In-between (holes) five and six," said Dryden when he took the phone call from Olson.

"It was nice to be officially notified with former coach Mike Ferda (there). That was a nice way to have the baton passed."

Ferda resigned after last season following a very successful career with the Bulldogs.

"It's (almost) June, so we'll have to hit the ground running," said Dryden.

"We have a lot of work to do in the next three weeks to get ready for summer camp. It's going to be a full sprint until practice begins in August."

Whitefish will attend the Griz Camp in late June. It will be the team's first trip to Missoula for this summertime event in three years.

Following the phone call, Dryden said he used a wedge on the 130-yard sixth hole to hit a near-perfect shot.

"It looked like I had a hole-in-one," he said.

"I got up there and I was about four-feet short. Not bad."

Dryden birdied the hole along with Ferda.

"I don't think the two of us have birdied the same hole before at the same time," said Dryden.

Dryden served as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator under Ferda for seven seasons. He has helped guide the Bulldogs through an off-season weight training program since Ferda resigned.

"We've gotten a lot of help from (Flathead High School head coach) Grady Bennett and his staff," said Dryden.

"We have really emphasized the weight room since last year, getting our toughness back. That's an area where we always had an edge on people. Now we feel people have caught up to us and surpassed us a little bit, so we're re-emphasizing that."

Prior to arriving at Whitefish, Dryden was the head football coach in Salmon, Idaho, for eight successful seasons. Salmon won five conference titles under Dryden and advanced to the postseason six times.

His coaching record at Salmon was 50-25-1.

Dryden was also an assistant coach for two years in Havre and at Missoula Hellgate.

Dryden graduated from Missoula Sentinel and the University of Montana. In high school Dryden competed in football and basketball. He played American Legion baseball.

"I've got a good relationship with the kids," said Dryden.

"One thing I want to stress is we are going to have a great staff. Four of the five people have worked together for four years. There is a lot of continuity there."

Assisting Dryden will be Chad Ross, Eric May, Aaron Phillips and Scott Smith. Dryden says he will hire one more assistant.

"We have a lot of tradition at Whitefish," said Dryden.

"We want to continue that tradition."

Dryden is also the head girls tennis coach at Whitefish. The Bulldogs won a state championship in 2004 and were runners-up in 2003 and 2006.

Dryden coached two state champions on the court in Danni Paulson, a three-time winner, and Allison Fey in his nine years.

Dryden, 45, has two children; Dylan, 15, a freshman-to-be at WHS, and Danielle, 13, who lives in Havre.