In December
1966, Swarthout was hired as head football coach at Montana, following a 1–8 season under Hugh Davidson. Swarthout had been a college assistant coach under
Darrell Royal and was the head coach at
Olympia High School in
Olympia, Washington. (Elway was the quarterback at
Hoquiam High School in the late 1940s under head coach Swarthout.) but he stayed with the Grizzlies. He was indicted in federal court in 1972 concerning the diversion of student-aid funds to the athletic department, but was acquitted in April 1973. Swarthout stepped down as UM athletic director in July 1975, and after nine seasons as head football coach in Missoula, he departed in the summer of 1976. He returned to Olympia that fall to coach at
Capital High School for the next decade.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GCFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=me0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6809%2C865979 ==Death==