Azose steps into role as new MIHS head football coach
Published 6:30 pm Thursday, May 7, 2026
Mason Azose, a fourth-generation Islander, will be taking the head-coaching reins of the Mercer Island High School (MIHS) varsity football program this coming season.
The class of 2013 MIHS graduate is thrilled to be back at his alma mater as an integral part of the school’s gridiron scene.
“Communities kind of rally around football teams in a way that is so unique to sports and to small towns like Mercer Island. So it’s very fun,” said Azose, 31, who was named head coach on May 4. He replaces last season’s head coach Victor Gamboa.
Azose began his football journey on the Island as a fourth-grader and played freshman ball for MIHS, sustained a leg injury and then placed his focus on basketball for the next two years. As a sophomore, he coached football for the first time in the local youth program and continued coaching football and basketball until he went to college at the University of Oregon.
He returned to the Island after graduating from college in 2017 and resumed coaching in the youth football program up until stepping into the MIHS head-coaching role this month.
“It just was a passion,” said Azose, noting that he was proud to coach his teams to two championships and attract more players to sign up for youth football squads. Over the last nine years, he has also served as a board member of the youth and high school football programs.
Azose dug into his thoughts on becoming the new MIHS head coach: “It’s such a unique opportunity to continue to pay it forward for all of the coaches that paid it forward for me. All the guys that really changed my life. I’m most excited about being able to continue this legacy of great mentorship, leadership and being a careful custodian of the Mercer Island football program.”
Two of those mentors who encouraged Azose to start coaching were Gary Barnett and Ross Heise, the latter of whom will assume the role as assistant coach of quality control and culture for the MIHS squad this season.
While bringing another key coach into the conversation, Azose said that his former basketball coach Ron Cohn always talked about the percentages and that has stuck with him over time.
“I’m going to play high percentage football. I’m going to play high IQ football. Because my belief is that, at its core, Mercer Island football is high IQ football and we need to lean into the fact that we have 4.0 students, valedictorians, Ivy League graduates consistently coming out of the football program,” said Azose, adding that they will be delivering a compelling product and the players will have some fun and feel like they’re part of something big.
Looking back into his time growing up on the Island sports fields and courts, Azose said that he learned about perseverance, effort, self-confidence and being in the spotlight — qualities that he’s benefited from throughout his life.
