Marshall County Mess

[CulleokaCowboy]

It takes over a month to go through the process of hiring a coach in Metro. You have no clue.

 

Taking a month to hire anyone is questionable, but then again it is metro, wouldn't expect anything to make much sence.

[bigredbird]

Pitts should have done his homework before saying yes to Stratford just a few months back. He walked out on a team during preparations for the season. He very well may have left out of FEAR but he should not have accepted the job in Metro. It's one thing to resign in March, but the 2nd week of July? Say what you like, I think it speaks to his character.

[CulleokaCowboy]

You're right it does. He now drives 15 mins to work instead of an hour, which means more time with his kids and family. I think that says plenty about his character.

[OldStoneFort]

Bigredbird has some good points. I can see why a coach would want to live close to home but the coach knew how far it was to drive to Nashville when he accepted the position. I'm sure other coaches have jumped ship so late in the year but I can't remember one. My take on this is as follows:

 

Pitts was looking for a way to move up to the head coaching ranks. He made a good pitch to Principal Steele and he offered him the job. Pitts got to Stratford and discovered just how bad his situation was and began second guessing his decision to be a head coach. There is very little financial or public support on the East Side for football and the school is being transformed into a Magnet school meaning some of the current athletes may not be back. I can assure you Steele gave Pitts his backing because he does not want the team to fail but Pitts didn't even respect him enough to give him a headsup about the job at MCHS. He sent him an e-mail which he received after he was approached by the media about losing his coach. What Pitts should have done is to have went to Principal Steele after Spring practice or sometime in May and said: "I'm in way over my head and I made a mistake." That would have given the school plenty of time to bring in their other candidates to interview. In Metro as in most other school districts they have to open up interviews to everyone by posting the position for ten days. They have to interview with a committee of administrators, teachers, and coaches and the principal reccommends a name to the Central Office who then conduicts a background check. It takes several weeks to play out (4 to 5) and then the Central Office makes the recommendation. Pitt's decision to leave the way he is disrespectful to Metro schools, SHS, and the boys he committed to lead into battle. There can be little doubt this will affect him down the road because people remember.

 

I don't have a dog in this hunt and I am happy for MCHS in hiring a coach. But this is not a typical head coach leaving his school in the Spring to accept a job at another school. Anyone who leaves his school after the dead period is looking to jump ship in a bad way. There can be no doubt Metro will NEVER hire this man again. They will red flag him and he won't work at a Metro School EVER!

[CulleokaCowboy]

Gettin red flagged by Metro is never a bad thing. Bottom line is this, Marshall has been Pitts' dream job and when it came open unexpectedly, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Y'all keep referring to the kids, what about Marshall County's kids? They were left without a coach the day before dead period. It's not as much a not wanting to be at Stratford issue as it is a desire to be at Marshall, end of story.

[likearock]

It still blows my mind how these school boards want to touch every dollar a good program brings in but act like darn fools when its time to pay the coaches. MC will still have to put together a staff...it won't be the best time to do that. GC needs to look at the money spent at the head office and those salaries. Leave the coaches alone and let them do their jobs.

[bigredbird]

Check out what the Principal at Stratford High School said to his former head football coach who bailed on the Spartans at the last minute to accept a position at MCHS.

 

"What goes around, comes around!"

 

That says it all!

 

http://www.usatodayhss.com/nashville/article/stratford-promotes-assistant-as-football-coach--2012307180163

[CulleokaCowboy]

That principal sounds like a moron to me. Looks like a bunch of whiney babies running around up at Stratford.

[OldStoneFort]

Cowboy, the coaching profession has some good and bad individuals working as football coaches. One of the things one can quickly determine about a coach is how he treats his players. I would suggest to you and the coach in question that he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the position at Stratford. I know not a lot of men applied for the position but he is the one who got the offer and accepted the position. THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD HIM SIGN A CONTRACT that week and I net they will not wait the next time someone is offered the position but he should not have said YES unless he was willing to see it through for at least one year. People in my profession understand these are ONE YEAR AGREEMENTS and to walk away before he even stepped onto the field of competition is unacceptable behavior. No matter what excuse is given, he should have not accepted the position at Stratford, PERIOD! You can't make excuses for him any longer. He committed to a job, put his hands to the plow then walked away before the crop was brought in. Coaches and principals will take note and the next time he goes to apply for a position at another school district people will remember! I hope he has a lot of success and develops a long career in Lewisberg but the truth is the Tiger fans are not very forgiving. If he doesn't win this year he will be looking for employment next summer!

[CulleokaCowboy]

I'm not making excuses for him, I'm simply explaining to you how asinine your argument is. End of story. And the one year agreement remark is stupid too. Football coaches flee to greener pastures all the time. I know Pitts feels bad for the kids at Stratford, but at the end of the day, HIS KIDS are more important........and he's where he's wanted to be for the last two years.

[bigredbird]

Coach: you may be in the wrong profession.

[fb247]

Cowboy, the coaching profession has some good and bad individuals working as football coaches. One of the things one can quickly determine about a coach is how he treats his players. I would suggest to you and the coach in question that he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the position at Stratford. I know not a lot of men applied for the position but he is the one who got the offer and accepted the position. THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD HIM SIGN A CONTRACT that week and I net they will not wait the next time someone is offered the position but he should not have said YES unless he was willing to see it through for at least one year. People in my profession understand these are ONE YEAR AGREEMENTS and to walk away before he even stepped onto the field of competition is unacceptable behavior. No matter what excuse is given, he should have not accepted the position at Stratford, PERIOD! You can't make excuses for him any longer. He committed to a job, put his hands to the plow then walked away before the crop was brought in. Coaches and principals will take note and the next time he goes to apply for a position at another school district people will remember! I hope he has a lot of success and develops a long career in Lewisberg but the truth is the Tiger fans are not very forgiving. If he doesn't win this year he will be looking for employment next summer!

You are not knowledgeable of all the facts. If you were you would not be so hard on Coach for leaving. Coach would not be leaving just for MC. Coach is showing professionalism for not bashing the poor admin at Stratford.