New era of Puyallup football: DJ Mims hired to lead storied 4A SPSL program

Mims, who grew up in Pierce County, made winners out of Life Christian Academy and Mercer Island in previous stops

Todd Milles | Apr 23, 2025

D.J. Mims has been the football coach at Life Christian and Mercer Island - and now will takes over at Puyallup in 2025. / Photo courtesy of D.J. Mims

The scary thing about Dwight "D.J." Mims when it comes to coaching football - he has only scratched the surface.

But now, he's found one of those rare jobs he can really establish his name by leading back to prominence - the Puyallup Vikings.

Mims, 32, was officially announced Wednesday afternoon as the Vikings' new coach, replacing Brian Grout, who stepped down in March after four seasons.

If there was a list going on around noting the most coveted coaching jobs in the state, no doubt Puyallup would be on that list. It has tradition - the Vikings just reached the Class 4A playoffs last fall for the 19th time, including the 1987 state championship. And it has produced some of biggest names this state has seen, notably at quarterback with Billy Joe Hobert and the three Huard brothers (Damon, Brock, Luke).

"When you get into the game ... and navigating a path, you know what the cream-of-the-crop jobs are," Mims said. "You know the tradition of Puyallup football.

"This job was always circled and highly-coveted."

A 2011 Franklin Pierce High School graduate, Mims, a wide receiver, decided to team up with his quarterback-playing brother and go play at Malone University, a now-defunct NCAA Division II program that played in the beastly Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

Because of his insatiable desire to learn football schemes, and study sound coaching habits, Mims quickly jumped into the South Sound coaching scene, first as a wide receiver and defensive backs coach at Foss High School (2014-17), then jumping to his alma mater for four seasons overseeing receivers with the Cardinals (2017-19).

"He is a lifelong learning, always asking questions, always going to clinics," Franklin Pierce coach Trevor Hanson said. "He has a good understanding of (pass-game) spacing, and now he's really added some tempo to get the ball out."

That has largely been his trademark in guiding Life Christian Academy (2021) and Mercer Island (2022-25) - offenses that can quickly move the ball through the air.

Last season at Mercer Island, which went 10-1 and advanced to the Class 3A playoffs for the first time since 2017, he had the one of the classification's top passers (Youngmin Lee) and wide receivers (Elan Gotel). The Islanders averaged 267.0 passing yards per game in 2024.

"It is something the league (4A SPSL) will have to prepare for," Mims said.

Mims said he also understands the higher level of expectations this Puyallup position carries - on the field with a talented group of returners, but also off the field with a large group of boosters and an administration that wants to get back to returning to a championship level.

And he's ready to put in that necessary effort to accomplish those goals.

"I would say my hard work comes from my mom (Maria Buze) and dad (Greg Buze)," Mims said. "I've never shied away from a challenge or been content (working) where I am at."

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