The Manual head coaching job has been listed on the JCPS Employment site. Josh Gillispie served as the interim head coach for the Crimsons following coach Donnie Stoner's removal in July.

Who are the likely candidates for this job?

Coach Gillespie did a tremendous job in very tough circumstances to lead the Crimsons this season. Good luck to him moving forward. Manual really needs to make a good hire here. Coach longevity means a lot to the continuity of a program. Manual has some talent but Coach longevity, not so much. 

Will Coach Gillespie be a candidate?

21 hours ago, Falcon Pride said:

Will Coach Gillespie be a candidate?

Yes. Maybe a Louisville BGPer can confirm, but as a JCPS school is Manual not required to post the job?

7 minutes ago, 111 said:

Yes. Maybe a Louisville BGPer can confirm, but as a JCPS school is Manual not required to post the job?

I imagine this is a formality. Manual was successful this year I don’t see why he would be replaced. 

Manual was in a difficult position having to hire a coach in July. Coach Gillispie stepped in under difficult circumstances and did a solid job. I'm sure that will weigh in his favor in this process.

On the other hand, the school did not get a chance to do a full search for their new coach. This program hasn't made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs in 15 years. They haven't beaten their rival on Preston Highway for 10 years. For a program that is consistently in the top 10 in 6A, that is a surprise. They owe it to themselves, and more importantly, their kids to see if there is an applicant they think can take their program to the next level.

Keep in mind, there are lots of things we can't see from the outside that impact the long term performance of the program. Most of us only see the scores. How did the staff function this year? How does the team feel about Gillispie? Were the players held to a high standard on and off the field? Were the players supervised appropriately? etc.

Finally, the staff this year was mostly the same people hired by the previous coach. It may be that Manual wants/needs to make a clean break from all or part of that group and start fresh. I certainly wouldn't blame them if that's the case.

Hearing rumors of Adrian Morton.

3 hours ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Hearing rumors of Adrian Morton.

Have heard the same rumblings. Would be a great hire for Manual.

6 hours ago, EastSideJunkie said:

Have heard the same rumblings. Would be a great hire for Manual.

Agreed, it would be a great hire for Manual, but I think Coach Morton is looking to jump to the college coaching ranks next.

He announced he resigned from Ballard today.  So he is going somewhere.