Ironton was the crown jewel of the KY/OH/WV tri-state area from the early 70’s through the mid 90’s, when they drew talent from all over the area. But it's not what it once was. The decline has been gradual over the past 15 years or so. The talent pool has dwindled along with the economy and rival Wheelersburg has overtaken them as the premier program in southeastern Ohio. At this point, the appeal of Ironton is rooted mostly in tradition and...

He's originally from Powell County. He had stints as an assistant coach at East Carter, Montgomery County, and GRC before returning to Powell County as head coach.

He's got to seal the border around Prestonsburg and stop the program from hemorrhaging talent to neighboring schools.

Howell's a home town guy and former Tomcat player who appeared to be building that program back up to perennial region contender status. He was set to return a strong team next season. The seemingly abrupt nature of this termination raises some obvious questions that you hope will be answered. Between this and the baseball stuff, there seems to be something going on in Tomcat country.

You talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to ME? Robert De Niro

Despite being the least experienced of the coaches listed, Grizzle would be my choice if I were Ironton. He's a young, energetic, enthusiastic coach who would absolutely change the culture over there. Things have become stale across the river over the past several years. Taking the Greenup job tells me that Grizzle doesn't mind a challenge. He might even relish it. And Ironton would certainly be an intriguing challenge right now, especially...