Open Job: Barren County

[BillNye]

Barren County has let go of Tommy Muse.

https://104thescore.com/2023/12/06/tommy-muse-is-out-as-barrens-football-coach/

A bit of a shock to me as he was a Barren County guy and would have stayed no matter the talent. I'm not sure who BC thinks they can replace him with that is a step up. Believe it or not, I thought the Trojans had some decent traction with him there.

Facilities are top tier, talent pool lacks a bit... I find myself wondering how desirable this job is.

[Purple88]

Wow, this surprised me too!  Tommy Muse has been around Barren County Football since 2007.  That's a long commitment.  I applaud that.  They aren't great, but like @BillNye said, it's not a talent saturated area and likely get the most out of what they have.  Or maybe not?  I don't really follow the Trojans; just topically.  

I'm sure they know this, but with Reclassification coming (2025) and no playing up.  Guess where they are likely to end back up?  Back in in 5A District 2 with BG.  But with South likely moving up, that isn't all bad for them.

Indeed, who will Barren County select now?

[bernies]

 Barren County administration continues to think that their program is much more than the rest of the area sees them as. They have fired several quality coaches over the years that are really good coaches (Johnny Hines, William Howard, Jason Scott). Just curious as to what the administration is expecting with the talent pool they have. 

[VF111]

Toxic job.

Barren has a BAD reputation of firing coaches. I mean really, in this day and age, who really fires coaches other than for complete incompetence, or some egregious act? Barren is a school with ZERO Regional Championships... maybe zero district championships... it's a school with an independent (Glasgow) in the County that dominates them in football. Barren's wins per season since 2010 go 2, 5, 1, 4, 4, 4, 1, 1, 3, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5... and they're firing people... 

The trajectory of Muse's run at Barren win-wise was 3 in '21, 4 in '22, and 5 in '23... and they fired him. 

There are a handful (a small one) of schools in KY that can be justified in firing based on not winning the rivalry game, the District, Region, or State... but Barren ain't in that conversation. 

Toxic job. 

[BillNye]

1 hour ago, VF111 said:

Toxic job.

Barren has a BAD reputation of firing coaches. I mean really, in this day and age, who really fires coaches other than for complete incompetence, or some egregious act? Barren is a school with ZERO Regional Championships... maybe zero district championships... it's a school with an independent (Glasgow) in the County that dominates them in football. Barren's wins per season since 2010 go 2, 5, 1, 4, 4, 4, 1, 1, 3, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5... and they're firing people... 

The trajectory of Muse's run at Barren win-wise was 3 in '21, 4 in '22, and 5 in '23... and they fired him. 

There are a handful (a small one) of schools in KY that can be justified in firing based on not winning the rivalry game, the District, Region, or State... but Barren ain't in that conversation. 

Toxic job. 

This x1000

[Westernside]

Has to be a reasoning behid this???

[BillNye]

7 minutes ago, Westernside said:

Has to be a reasoning behid this???

I severely doubt there will ever be a valid reason given. Barren is known for this.

Looking at the comment made in the article referenced earlier, that reads as... 

" The athletic director said the hiring process will be open and that the search will be for the person “… who continues to build and continues to push the program forward.” "

Who exactly is lining up to take that mission on for Barren County that will do what Coach Muse was not in their eyes? What does Barren's administration deem as pushing their program forward?

Doubtful I will ever get an answer to those questions, either.

[know your role]

Barren I’m sure is looking to make a “splash” hire. IMO the best they can do is get a young coach looking for his first job. They did that with Jackson Arnett a few years back. He had some success and moved on to Boyle County when he got the opportunity. Seems like that has worked out pretty well for him. 

[GC-Dragons]

I feel some are being pretty harsh here, Barren isn’t a bad job. They have great facilities and the area has legitimate talent. Plus they return some nice players from last year. If they are able to land a solid coach, they could keep building the team. 

I also do feel Coach Muse was doing a solid job and they had really made some solid gains under him recently. Knowing that, it seems there would be more to this than just wins and losses. 
 

Either way, I wish Barren County well. 

[BIG BLACK JACK]

Awful move. I think this will set the program back even further than it was when Muse took over. Rome wasn’t built in a day and Muse had the program going in the right direction, coupled with the facility improvements they should have gave him more time. HE TOOK GLASGOW TO DOUBLE OT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! 
 

I hate it for Tommy and his family. The guy LOVES Barren County and Barren County football more than anyone I’ve been around. I hope someone in the area sees what he was able to do there and gives him another shot at a HC position, he absolutely deserves it. 

[Phoenix Kid]

Extremely cut throat business which sucks I definitely think Barren should’ve kept Muse he was doing a fine job he had McCracken on the ropes for a minute there and not to mention took Glasgow to the wire. 

[111]

Has Barren County boys basketball also had a revolving door or have they been able to sustain their HC and staff?

[DragonFire]

31 minutes ago, 111 said:

Has Barren County boys basketball also had a revolving door or have they been able to sustain their HC and staff?

They’ve had one of the most stable head coaching situations in the entire 4th Region. Warren Cunningham is in his 16th season as head coach, and I believe is the longest continuously tenured coach in the region. They’ve had only three men coach for them since 89/90 - Cunningham, Steve Riley (in two 7 year stints), and John Tinsley) who coached in between Riley’s tenures. I can’t speak to the staff, but that sort of consistency up to is very rare. 

[Tkinslow]

I think Barren has had two or three great middle school teams in a row with the first group being sophomores next year and I just wonder if they think they have something really good coming and might entice a big name. I agree with y’all I think Muse could’ve probably did just as well as anyone else they might potentially bring in. 

[BillNye]

50 minutes ago, DragonFire said:

They’ve had one of the most stable head coaching situations in the entire 4th Region. Warren Cunningham is in his 16th season as head coach, and I believe is the longest continuously tenured coach in the region. They’ve had only three men coach for them since 89/90 - Cunningham, Steve Riley (in two 7 year stints), and John Tinsley) who coached in between Riley’s tenures. I can’t speak to the staff, but that sort of consistency up to is very rare. 

And if I’m not mistaken, the boys basketball program has won 1 4th region title since the school opened.