BennyBones

Couldn't agree with this as well as what others have said. Coaches, parents, players, society as whole emphasizes the me over the we. I know a lot of great coaches, who have recently decided to get out of the profession (high school and college), and wouldn't be surprised if more don't soon. Those replacing them are cut from the same cloth as the players/parents. It's cyclical. I digress. Happy Football Friday eve. Any good match ups this week?

Agreed. Heard a really good coach say recently "There once was a time, players wanted to win State Championships, now all they care about is their own scholarship. Me > Team philosophy. Sad.

I can agree in part with what you said Buddy. However Hillsboro cannot fall under your scenario this year. They've historically had great players, but are 0-5, soon to be 0-6. Sad, considering all the new upgrades to the school/facility. Sure, great players can make a coach look good, but if a coach can't line them up and get them to know their responsibility and assignment, and get them to play as a team, then they ain't going far. Which why most metro teams have historically struggled in the playoffs (with exceptions), because like you say "when talent is equal, then coaching matters". Cheers to week 6!

Hillsboro hasn't been competitive outside of Metro since Clayton was there 5-6 years ago. Don't see that changing either. Shame because they've got to have the best facilities in Metro now.

I'm not disagreeing with this at all. However McGavock is an average metro job at best anyways. I don't see it getting any big names from out of county simply because I don't view it as one of the best jobs in Metro. So a metro guy sounds like it would be the fit here. Just think it's a long term (3-4 year fix) for whoever gets the job, seeing how decimated the program has been in the past few years.

Anyone heard anything here? I know interviews started a week or so ago...I assume they are in the process of 2nd interviews.

I think this is good collection of potential candidates. I would add in there B. Waite

Interviews starting soon. Who do we think will get the job?

I'll admit at first I was unsure of what you meant by climate, but I think I understand. I do think there are a significant number of parents in MNPS who don't send their kids to their local school or any MNPS school for the sake of the academics and/or environment of that school and/or district. In turn all the best athletes flock to the schools that are winning. *Insert recruiting, cheating, etc arguments*, but in reality why would an top-tier athlete want to go to a school that has not won many games and has poor academic value. Instead you could go to Cane Ridge, Pearl Cohn, Hillsboro, etc and at least trade off the academics for the athletics. Academics and athletics are not inseparable in MNPS. Raise the academic standards and I believe you will raise the athletic level.

This is a little bit of a stretch, and not always true. Clayton left Franklin to take the Hillsboro job and went to the state within 2 years of being there. Jay Gore was at Brentwood for some time before going to McGavock. I think opportunity is there from both outside MNPS and from within to hire quality coaches. The issue is the academic part someone mentioned a few posts prior. MNPS ranks exceptionally low in comparison to other counties across multiple academic levels (reading comprehension, test scores, etc). Raise the academic level in the district, and in turn raise the athletic level as well. Why? Because more Metro-Davidson families will choose to send their kids to their local school, instead of a private/charter school.

I fail to see how posting his record against a few Sumner county schools is disrespectful?

Agreed. Broome is a good coach, and will bring some rejuvenation to the Bobcat program.

That's good news for whoever gets the job!

Congrats to him on retirement. 26-19 record at Hillsboro during his tenure, including a 1-10 record against Gallatin and Beech, subpar. He did make the playoffs playoffs each year, but was put out by Beech a few of those years. Hillsboro should look to hire from the outside (of district), in order to compete with Sumner schools. Hiring from the current staff would only breed similar results, and it sounds like he (Fitz) plans to stay on and coach? Wonder if the principal will be forced to hire who the upper management on Bransford wants or will he get to choose his own coach this time around?

Don't be fooled by the current hiring standards in today's Metro School. So long as Roosevelt Sanders is the county AD, he will continue to dictate who is hired at high profile schools (schools that are or have been historically successful). Example - when the Hillsboro job was open a few years ago, the Principal at Hillsboro's first choice was not to hire Fitzgerald, but because the higher ups wanted him, that's what they got. So long as the good ol' boy system is in place from the same group that have been running Metro for all these years (Roosevelt Sanders, Tony Majors, etc), then you all will continue to gripe and moan about have's and have not's and recruiting. Why? Because they are only concerned about the handful of programs that have a chance to be successful.