Coeur d'Alene High hires Arnold Brown as boys basketball coach
A familiar assistant is taking over a Vikings program that swung from 21-5 to 8-14. Arnold Brown’s hire signals continuity after a rocky stretch.
Coeur d’Alene High turned to a familiar hand to steady a boys basketball program that has swung sharply over the past two seasons. Arnold Brown, 62, will lead the Vikings after serving as an assistant for two years and stepping in as interim coach for the final five games of the 2025 season.
The hire gives the school continuity after a turbulent stretch. Brown replaces Kent Leiss, who resigned in April after an 8-14 season and cited philosophical differences with administration. Leiss also said the team was locked out of CHS gym space from June 27 to Nov. 1, forcing practices at Venture Academy, private residences and outdoor courts. For Coeur d’Alene, the move brings in a coach who already knows the roster, the building and the pressure that comes with one of Kootenai County’s most visible athletic programs.
Athletic director Tony Prka said the school is glad to bring Brown into the role. “We are excited to welcome coach Brown into this role,” Prka said. Brown said his focus is simple. “The more kids I can help the better,” he said.
Brown’s case for the job rests on both his background and his ties to the program. He coached boys basketball at Shadle Park High School from 2018 to 2023 and has spent roughly 30 years as a special education teacher and coach. He also previously coached at Medical Lake, Rosalia and Wapato, building a resume that stretches across Eastern Washington and into North Idaho.
He is not new to Coeur d’Alene basketball. Brown joined the Vikings staff under Jon Adams, and the two have known each other since the 1990s at Whitworth University, where Brown was an assistant and Adams played. Brown also handled Coeur d’Alene’s defense during his interim run after Adams left midseason in January 2025, while Adams ran the offense. Adams is now the head coach at MØDE Prep in Liberty Lake.
That connection matters because Brown and Adams still run the CDA Summer Shootout, with the sixth edition set for June 19-21 at the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake. It also underscores why the hire reads as both a fresh start and a continuation of what worked before.
The Vikings’ recent results show how much is at stake. Under Adams, Coeur d’Alene went 21-5 in 2023-24, won its first league title since 2016, its first outright league title since 2014, its first regional title since 2011 and returned to state for the first time since 2012. The next year, the team went 11-10 under Adams, according to MaxPreps. Leiss’s 2025-26 team finished 8-14.
Brown’s challenge now is to hold onto the pieces that made Coeur d’Alene dangerous while rebuilding the consistency that slipped away. He plans to continue teaching at Shadle Park while coaching in Coeur d’Alene, splitting his time between Spokane and North Idaho, and that arrangement will be one of the first things players and parents watch as the Vikings prepare for next season.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
