Charlie Hall, who went 91-41 as Ashland's football coach from 2005 to 2016, has taken over as the school's athletic director.

Charlie Hall has returned to Ashland High School, but this time, he has a much different mission.

Hall, 65, resigned as the football coach at Phoenix to become the athletic director at Ashland, where he made his mark as a football coach by compiling a 91-41 record from 2005 to 2016. It is the first administrative job for Hall, who served as Southern Oregon University's football coach for six seasons between his stints at Ashland and Phoenix.

“I enjoy that problem-solving aspect of the job,” said Hall, who was hired in May. “I'll miss that connection with the kids, but it's time to fix some different and bigger problems, to help everybody.”

Hall joined Ashland's staff in 1998 under coach Jim Nagel and helped the Grizzlies go 14-0 and win the big-school state title in his first season. He succeeded Nagel in 2005 and guided the team to four conference titles and nine playoff berths, including a 5A runner-up finish in 2015.

Hall and his wife, Jennifer, have lived in Ashland since 2001. Their two children graduated from Ashland.

“On campus, there are still quite a few people here from when I was here before,” Hall said. “That eases a lot of the job change. I think I've got some credibility coming back here, based on things I've done in my career.”

Ashland has cycled through several athletic directors in the last half-decade, including three in the last year. Hall said much has changed at Ashland in the last 10 years, partially due to an enrollment that has declined from 877 to 586 during that span.

“Ashland has undergone quite a transformation,” he said. “There are serious financial concerns in the whole community. In my department, that's a challenge to try to maintain certain levels. You have some traditions that are longstanding here. I think you can find the right resources in a town like Ashland. We've just got to get people to reinvigorate about supporting athletics.”

A popular retirement community, Ashland's demographic has continued to skew older in the last decade. The higher cost of living has made it difficult for many young families to settle there.

Facing budgetary challenges, Ashland's athletic programs have gone into survival mode. Hall's vision is to get them all pulling in the same direction.

“The biggest challenge is we need a cultural shift,” Hall said. “Because of the changing leadership over the years, every athletic team has kind of developed its own silo to exist. There's not this sense of belonging with the department. When you don't have that, you lose your sense of belonging with the community. Everybody is very fractured.

“We need to start building a way that we can appreciate each other, try to find our strengths.”

The football team – state champion under Nagel in 1989, 1991 and 1998 – has long been a source of pride in the community, but has struggled to find its footing in recent seasons.

The Grizzlies met the OSAA criteria to drop from 5A to 4A after going 0-8 in 2021, their first winless season since 1962. They are 12-24 overall, 6-16 in 4A Special District 4 in the last four seasons. They went 2-6 last year in their first season under coach Greg White.

Hall said he is hopeful the Grizzlies' football team can return to 5A in the near future, but given the enrollment trajectory, he believes it is more likely that Ashland will eventually become a 4A school. This season, the Grizzlies once again will play in 4A Special District 4.

“I think Greg learned a lot last year,” Hall said. “They lost some close games. I don't think it's a lack of talent here. I think they have the talent. Ashland had a very strong sophomore class last year that played a lot of minutes. Now that they're juniors, they're more seasoned for that level of competition.”

For 2026-27, Ashland's other sports teams will move into the new 6A/5A Southern Oregon Conference hybrid. In individual-based sports, the Grizzlies will compete in 5A Special District 1.

Hall said he is “grateful” for his time at Phoenix, where he went 10-18 in three seasons. He took over a team that had lost 24 consecutive games, and after going 0-9 in his first season, he led the Pirates to records of 4-5 in 2024 and 6-4 in 2025. They won all six of their home games last season.

“It was an amazing experience on a Friday night in Phoenix,” Hall said. “It hasn't been that way in a long time. I feel good about giving that community something positive to celebrate. Those kids and families stayed with us and believed in each other.”

Bubba Rylance, who assisted Hall at Ashland and Phoenix, has been hired as the Pirates' head coach.