LEFTYKNOX

It doesn't matter what the community thinks. The only thing that matters is what the school administration thinks. And they are... let's just say, not the greatest.

I have seen a lot of talk about Josh Jones being a potential candidate on this thread. If that is the case and Bearden hires him then that entire program/administration is a joke. He has spent the bulk of his "career" coaching little league football. He has only been a high school coach for three years. One of those years being an abysmal disaster at CAK during Mozingo's early tenure. Any below average coach could take the athletes at Powell and run Matt's offense. As for him being able to get kids there, Bearden is not like Powell, it is already over capacity in the building and it is near impossible to get a transfer in unless there is a bona fide change of address. This isn't the baby falcons rec team, that is 6A high school football.

I would be shocked if the hiring committee could read much less log onto a computer and get on this site.

Why would a school promote from within from an underperforming team/staff? Seems to me the sensible thing would be to hire someone from outside with fresh ideas. This will not be an internal hire, IMO. I just can't see that happening.

Internal would be a huge mistake. You don't promote an assistant from a 4-6 team to be the HC.

Josh only has about 3-4 years of high school coaching experience. The rest was with the grass cutter league over at John Tarleton. He was OC at CAK in 2018 and they were worse than bad.

And I would think the opposite would be true as well, if the new HC was a defensive minded coach. The DC would leave and they would have an open coaching spot and PE position to hire an offensive coordinator.

I imagine that like with any head coaching change, there will be some turnover with the assistant coaches. Whether they choose to find a teaching/coaching job elsewhere, choose to keep their teaching job and coach at another school or just be done with coaching/take a year off and evaluate. This would allow for some movement of new assistant coaches into the program. Holdover assistants just don't usually have a ton of responsibility.

I have stated this since the early pages of this thread. It is very unlikely that a new HC is named and he keeps the current OC/DC at Bearden. If they were so great, the team wouldn't have finished 4-6. It is not common for new HC's to have holdover coaches in critical roles like OC/DC.

Agreed. I do not see an internal hire and certainly do not see the new hire keeping any coordinator in that same position. They may have to keep them on staff for numbers but will not keep someone calling an offense or defense from with an underperforming record.

Jones is a great offensive coach and would make a great HC. Whoever ends up coaching their offense will need lots of help because they do not have a QB on the roster, IMO. They have a promising freshman that played this year but I think he would be better utilized at other skill positions.

His defense averaged allowing almost 25 points per game and played: Bearden, Clinton, Lenoir City, Campbell Co, and the worst McMinn team in 3-4 years?

Rumor at church this past Wednesday was that Jeff Miner is apparently the man for this job. He is currently the defensive coach at Oak Ridge. This would be a surprising hire because he would have to be taking a substantial pay cut to leave OR City Schools and go to Knox County Schools, from what I have heard.

Knox Co has had a coaching stipend for a strength and conditioning coach at each school for at least the past decade. I understand this supplement was originally to be used for paying an athletic trainer but those are provided by the local ortho clinic as part of an outreach program. I am totally surprised to hear that Oak Ridge does not at the very least have a stipend for this position that could go to a teacher/coach that holds some type of weight room certification. I think that is a shame for not only the football players but all of the student-athletes involved in sports at ORHS.

Any names being tossed around for this job besides Cummings, Bradley, and Taylor?

There is no way a new HC comes in and doesn't at the very least change coordinators on both sides of the ball. I don't care what the teaching position situation is there. He will change both who is running the offense and the defense.

A strong chance that a new HC with offensive background will replace the current DC with one of "his guys" and vice versa. A new HC with a defensive background will replace the OC with one of "his guys".

I doubt that the hire would be someone with a defense background with the defensive success they had this year.

Yes, I understand that you are god's gift to human resources policy at the Knox County Schools but you are missing the forest for the trees. Coaches that are not physically present in the school building and coach at other places do not always have the same level of investment as the coaches that are involved in the school life; thus, often times not making them nearly as valuable to a HC as an in-building assistant. Not to mention, dealing with academics / behavioral issues on a team of over 100 can prove difficult for one man. That is why having good help (in the building) is critical for success. If current coaches were to leave and a new HC did not have in-building assistants or positions for them, it is a total recipe for disaster, in my opinion.

I agree that he will allow for the new coach to have autonomy as he should with who coaches. The idea of being "tenured" does not offer the same level of protection as it did many moons ago or how it is treated in the Northeast with a more robust teacher union. Now, obviously teachers have protection and will not be let go if they choose not to coach (especially in KCS), but that leads me to my next question. If your current faculty assistant coaches choose to no longer coach but remain in the building as teachers, what would a HC do to fill his staff without available teaching positions?

Nine assistant coaches total! That seems like a ton of help. Could be a good sign for the new hire.

Looking at the BHS football website, they have 3 other coaches listed besides the former HC Shinlever. Where can I find a list of the rest of the assistants

So you anticipate the principal / new HC will be "letting go" of their current assistant coaching staff members?

From the outside looking in, I can't see it being that simple. These guys (especially in Knox Co) work for peanuts. Their real job is to be a teacher, teaching assistant, etc. If their core principles as far as coaching do not align with the new HC, it may better serve them and the program to just teach and not coach. It's probably the worst scenario for staffing a large sport like football but the teaching positions are not tied to coaching in KCS.

I am going to go against the grain here (typical, ask my wife) and say that they should take a hard look at a specific individual on staff that has invested at that school in multiple sports. He's young, excited, knowledgable, been around quality football in the past, kids love him. There is a lot to figure out here, but this is a quality job and the right guy could take this place to new levels. It starts with development (youth leagues & weight room) if that is not priority #1, you are wrong.