SPORTS

A few facts about North Side football, Nickey

JacksonTN

A few random facts related to North Side’s hiring of its new football coach Donnie Nickey on Thursday:

• For those who want to make sure, Nickey’s hiring even though he’s not a teacher yet falls in line with the TSSAA’s regulations concerning non-faculty coaches.

Nickey has spent five seasons as an approved non-faculty assistant coach in the TSSAA (four with Battle Ground Academy and one with University School of Jackson), and he will go through the approved training certification within three years.

Nickey is new North Side coach

• Tab Vowell announced his resignation from North Side on Feb. 3. April 21 was the day Nickey was announced, meaning there were 78 days between coaches for the Indians.

That isn’t the longest time to name a new football coach in West Tennessee in recent years. It’s not even the longest search this year.

The longest search was Jackson Christian’s search that ended with current coach Todd Roland. Matt Underwood issued his resignation in early November of 2013. Athletic director Scott Gatlin said then he’d take his time making the right choice, and a little more than four months later in March is when Roland was announced as the next leader of the Eagles.

McNairy Central athletic director Brian Franks and the rest of the administration named Franks the new head coach for the Bobcats in February of this year, just less than three months after former coach Chad Hodge announced his resignation in early November.

Scotts Hill’s first head coach Jason White resigned from leading the Lions just after the season ended in 2012. The school announced Michael Stroup as the head coach in early February of 2013.

FYI – the quickest searches were at Humboldt and Camden.

Kevin Ward announced his resignation officially from Camden in January of 2011. Current coach William Blow was named the coach the next day.

Humboldt head coach Junior Reid was named to his current post in November of 2012, hours after his predecessor Dan Bland had been informed earlier that day he wouldn’t be retained as head coach.

H.S. FOOTBALL: USJ hires former Buckeye, Titan

• Nickey is set to run in the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon in Nashville on April 30. He will run in honor of Make A Wish Foundation in honor of the late former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas.

Bironas was the Titans’ kicker who died in a car accident in 2014.

Nickey was Bironas’ teammate on the Titans and played for Tennessee for eight seasons.

• Nickey’s hiring and the announcement of David Whittle as the new coach at Dyer County means every team in Region 7-4A now know who their coaches will be this season.

Whittle has coached middle school football in Newbern and was promoted to varsity head coach after former coach Barry Kendall was fired in March.

Lexington coach Bryant Hollingsworth is the longest-tenured coach in that region, having been leading the Tigers since 2008.

Also, Trinity Christian’s Blake Butler is now the longest-tenured head coach in Jackson with his five years of experience leading the Lions.

• North Side filling its coaching position leaves only Westview as the remaining program in the Sun’s coverage area needing to hire a football coach. Athletic director Jeromy Davidson said last week he planned to begin looking at resumes this week while hiring a coach and two guidance counselors.

There have been six of 32 teams who will have new coaches this season.

Brandon Shields, 425-9751