Head Coaching Openings 2023

[tradertwo]

On 1/16/2024 at 8:11 PM, Bobcats83 said:

Good man ran off by people who have no clue what they are doing.  Tough job , very little talent and the pay is not close to other districts.  Good luck finding the next coach 

I really can't affirm nor counter this statement, but I do know that there was a team meeting with two or three weeks left on the schedule. I heard from a very reliable source that the "team" took a vote, and that the majority of them were for walking out and not playing out the remainder of their games unless they were promised that the current coach was gone as soon as season was over. 

  I do think that you're underselling the job though. McNairy hasn't had a good run in a long time...I believe that the "right guy" could turn things around there pretty fast. Their competition isn't looking great for the next few years, so a "decent" team could have a respectable record...talent in the area isn't bad compared to their district, if they could attract some of the marginal Adamsville kids (heard that that's more possible than ever) and just a few others. Pay and control have to be there to get your dude...fix that and things can be looking up.

[Bobcats83]

12 hours ago, tradertwo said:

I really can't affirm nor counter this statement, but I do know that there was a team meeting with two or three weeks left on the schedule. I heard from a very reliable source that the "team" took a vote, and that the majority of them were for walking out and not playing out the remainder of their games unless they were promised that the current coach was gone as soon as season was over. 

  I do think that you're underselling the job though. McNairy hasn't had a good run in a long time...I believe that the "right guy" could turn things around there pretty fast. Their competition isn't looking great for the next few years, so a "decent" team could have a respectable record...talent in the area isn't bad compared to their district, if they could attract some of the marginal Adamsville kids (heard that that's more possible than ever) and just a few others. Pay and control have to be there to get your dude...fix that and things can be looking up.

Dyersburg, Covington and Westview games were over in the first quarter.  That’s more about talent than coaching.  The cupboard is thin. Selmer middle is the largest feeder school and just won county for the first time in forever.  So maybe it’s going to get better.  Pay isn’t going to change.  That’s not an option in small systems. It’s either someone who is from McNairy or a retired Mississippi man 

[tradertwo]

4 hours ago, Bobcats83 said:

Dyersburg, Covington and Westview games were over in the first quarter.  That’s more about talent than coaching.  The cupboard is thin. Selmer middle is the largest feeder school and just won county for the first time in forever.  So maybe it’s going to get better.  Pay isn’t going to change.  That’s not an option in small systems. It’s either someone who is from McNairy or a retired Mississippi man 

If you're assessing the future talent level at McNairy according to which middle school won county you're thinking on the wrong level. If they hire the right coach he will pull kids from EVERY middle school in the county, as well as a few from surrounding counties and one or two from Mississippi. "Pay isn't going to change" is also a rather flat statement that very well could change...without doing any research, a good guess would be 36-40 mil operating budget for the Dept. of Ed... adding ten to twelve thousand each at two schools for head coaches and another six or eight for assistants wouldn't move the needle for the overall budget. It's simply a question of "how much does it matter" to the board and director that football be done to the best of your ability. Judging from your mindset (if you're a resident), you're probably right that nothing will change for the better. If it DOES matter to you, call Mr. Martin, call Mr. Franks, call whomever you can and give them your opinion that things need to be done differently if you're going to have a different result.

[Bobcats83]

Not going to “pull” kids from MS Or surrounding counties.  Why would kids from Hardin or Chester come when they have had successful programs.   McNairy County has open enrollment so kids can go to either high school. There won’t be any kids coming from outside the middle schools so it does matter which one is successful.  Selmer middle is the largest and until this year they haven’t been good.  
 

You obviously don’t know financial context of a small school system.  Pay will not change.  Only people that will be interested in this job will be retired from MS or someone from this area.  

Edited January 20 by Bobcats83

[MidStateFan1]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:10 AM, SpottedGoat said:

It was about 1999 when then UT-Martin Chancellor Phillip Conn decided that the football program as a whole would be canceled at UTM due to the massive monetary drag it was on the university that was also in basic default itself. Near zero fan support or community involvement & a guaranteed losing season had became the norm; it was a business decision. A rather unpopular one, & it never came to fruition. (He was basically run out of town & hired at Knoxville) Today, UTM holds a fantastic team, community involvement & a very good overall program. Like it or not, Jason Simpson is the biggest reason for this. Somewhere in the mix, Westview playing home games in that stadium may have helped to save the football program at UTM as they could not build their own & filled that venue with more people on any given Friday night than the Skyhawks would all season put together at that time. It would be foolish beyond belief to think Westview is not a premium place to coach football. Athletes, community support, money, it's all there in piles. Any coach looking to coach at this school is going to have the next Simpson, play games on his fathers field at UTM while being under that microscope & have to balance one heck of  a rabid, political fan base. Westview simply didn't have the size in the trenches this year they are used to playing with. They lost arguably the best LB in their region prior to season & to me, that & more added up to the difference that cost Neal his job. 

Why did Neal get ran out? I'm on the outside here in middle TN, but he has a really good record there including a state championship. Did he get on the bad side of the wrong parent?

[sportsfan53ray]

The aforementioned poster does understand small school systems (Henderson Co., Scotts Hill). But you are correct that the coach pay scales will not be raised to compete with others for the best coaches. Wish Wes could have stayed for a long time. Maybe they get lucky with a new hire. Some good athletes at Selmer Middle. Good coach could draw players from areas (Michie/Stantonville/Lawton)  that could go either way (Adamsville/McNairy) and eastern area of Hardeman Co. (Middleton/Hornsby). And stop losing players to Mississippi (Corinth/Kossuth).

[GrumpyBulldog]

3 hours ago, Bobcats83 said:

Not going to “pull” kids from MS Or surrounding counties.  Why would kids from Hardin or Chester come when they have had successful programs.   McNairy County has open enrollment so kids can go to either high school. There won’t be any kids coming from outside the middle schools so it does matter which one is successful.  Selmer middle is the largest and until this year they haven’t been good.  
 

You obviously don’t know financial context of a small school system.  Pay will not change.  Only people that will be interested in this job will be retired from MS or someone from this area.  

100% correct. The school system is the largest employer in the county, and the tax base is not good. Base pay and supplements aren't going to change anytime soon. 

[GregoryMartin]

No coach worth his salt will ever come to McNairy. I know they contacted Michael Stroup and they were met with more laughs than a Dave Chappelle special. Coach Woodmore and he turned them down. They contacted a community member who was a former coach and he hit them with a "I got a guy on the other line talking about a set of white walls." All of these calls were made while Johnson was HC. What coach wants to work for Coach Franks and princiPAL Jerry Pyron?

You won't be able to pull kids from Corinth. You won't pull kids from Adamsville or Hardin Co. McNairy is a tribal place. Kids will go to High school where their parents went. 

[tradertwo]

11 hours ago, sportsfan53ray said:

The aforementioned poster does understand small school systems (Henderson Co., Scotts Hill). But you are correct that the coach pay scales will not be raised to compete with others for the best coaches. Wish Wes could have stayed for a long time. Maybe they get lucky with a new hire. Some good athletes at Selmer Middle. Good coach could draw players from areas (Michie/Stantonville/Lawton)  that could go either way (Adamsville/McNairy) and eastern area of Hardeman Co. (Middleton/Hornsby). And stop losing players to Mississippi (Corinth/Kossuth).

Glad that someone gets the fact that things change when folks change them, and change doesn't happen when folks sit by, do nothing, and expect nothing to be done differently. 

 Adamsville would have been hard to beat out to draw the "either way" kids six or eight years ago, but not now. Get one or two "starter" type kids that would normally be there, one or two from each of the three swing schools, one or two from the west (nothing in Hardeman Co. to attract football kids), and one or two from south of the state line, and you've doubled your talent/depth without playing a down of football. Pay someone to come in and teach kids how to play while making football "interesting" for the kids already there, and the job gets easier from there. 

  Bottom line is; get kids to come out for football, build your numbers, put butts in the seats, and the public will pay the program's way far more than the cost of raising the stipend to coach football at McNairy... all you have to do is care enough to try.

[Tigersandcats]

34 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

Glad that someone gets the fact that things change when folks change them, and change doesn't happen when folks sit by, do nothing, and expect nothing to be done differently. 

 Adamsville would have been hard to beat out to draw the "either way" kids six or eight years ago, but not now. Get one or two "starter" type kids that would normally be there, one or two from each of the three swing schools, one or two from the west (nothing in Hardeman Co. to attract football kids), and one or two from south of the state line, and you've doubled your talent/depth without playing a down of football. Pay someone to come in and teach kids how to play while making football "interesting" for the kids already there, and the job gets easier from there. 

  Bottom line is; get kids to come out for football, build your numbers, put butts in the seats, and the public will pay the program's way far more than the cost of raising the stipend to coach football at McNairy... all you have to do is care enough to try.

Good post. 

[MCbobcats]

51 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

Glad that someone gets the fact that things change when folks change them, and change doesn't happen when folks sit by, do nothing, and expect nothing to be done differently. 

 Adamsville would have been hard to beat out to draw the "either way" kids six or eight years ago, but not now. Get one or two "starter" type kids that would normally be there, one or two from each of the three swing schools, one or two from the west (nothing in Hardeman Co. to attract football kids), and one or two from south of the state line, and you've doubled your talent/depth without playing a down of football. Pay someone to come in and teach kids how to play while making football "interesting" for the kids already there, and the job gets easier from there. 

  Bottom line is; get kids to come out for football, build your numbers, put butts in the seats, and the public will pay the program's way far more than the cost of raising the stipend to coach football at McNairy... all you have to do is care enough to try.

Good post but having been there the money isn’t going to change.  Plus you are talking about RECRUITING and McNairy doesn’t have any NIL $$ 

[tradertwo]

1 hour ago, MCbobcats said:

Good post but having been there the money isn’t going to change.  Plus you are talking about RECRUITING and McNairy doesn’t have any NIL $$ 

You don't have to recruit kids. Who is geographically close enough to McNairy to pull the marginal kids? One post Said that some go to Miss., other than that probably a very few could choose Hardin Co, and the vast majority decide between the Bobcats and Cardinals. Not every kid in Hardeman County can come to McNairy, but there are several that could choose to if you gave them a better option than they have. Get the majority of McNairy County kids to choose blue and gold over red and silver, then one or two from here and there coupled with getting kids in the halls out to play and you've made a huge jump in talent and numbers. If it was easy everyone would win 8-10 games a year but in reality it isn't too hard to figure out...just getting folks on board with making the effort.