Manual names Keith Eckloff head football coach.

[LongTimeReader]

Manual has their guy. Jason Frakes is reporting Manual has hired Keith Eckloff, he was the HC at Seneca the last 5 seasons and an assistant at Male before that. 

[111]

Any of our Louisville folks have any insight on this Coach?

[Purple88]

The only thing I'd really like to know is did Interim Coach Gillispie sincerely want this permanent job or not.  I would say he earned the spot after how he rallied that team from an embarrasing public relations standpoint and made a terrific season for Manual last year.  Yes, they lost to Male again, but most people did too.  They beat X for only the 3rd time in 30 years.  They lost a heartbreaker in double OT to a good Ballard team.  I'd say that was a good audition.

I think Coach Eckloff did a good job at Seneca; but this ain't Seneca (honestly, no offense meant).

[Unrivaled97]

3 hours ago, 111 said:

Any of our Louisville folks have any insight on this Coach?

Spent the last 5 seasons at Seneca as HC with a record of 16-31.  Before taking over as HC of Seneca, he was an assistant at Seneca, Ballard & Male most recently.  I don't know him nor have I ever spoken with anyone who does, so I can't speak to anything other than his record and where he coached.

[Hard Work]

I am also shocked that Coach Gillispie did not get this one. When you break down the tiers of JCPS teams this one has to be in the top tier. I am interested to see how well Coach Eckloff is able to transition. Seneca's schedule is completely different. They don't play T, X, Male, Ballard so I will be interested to see how well Manual is prepared for these games in the future. 

[Tigerpride94]

3 hours ago, Purple88 said:

The only thing I'd really like to know is did Interim Coach Gillispie sincerely want this permanent job or not.  I would say he earned the spot after how he rallied that team from an embarrasing public relations standpoint and made a terrific season for Manual last year.  Yes, they lost to Male again, but most people did too.  They beat X for only the 3rd time in 30 years.  They lost a heartbreaker in double OT to a good Ballard team.  I'd say that was a good audition.

I think Coach Eckloff did a good job at Seneca; but this ain't Seneca (honestly, no offense meant).

He was one of candidates so I would say he wanted it. I thought he would get it

[WKY_Football]

Underwhelming hire for a really good football school imo. Gillespie should have gotten the job if he wanted it. 

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

13 hours ago, WKY_Football said:

Underwhelming hire for a really good football school imo. Gillespie should have gotten the job if he wanted it. 

Ty Scroggins: 22-30 in 5 seasons at Doss before taking over at Central and going 101-43 with in 10 seasons with 7 trips to the 3A finals and 5 state championships.

Hunter Cantwell: 15-19 in 3 seasons at Carroll County before taking over at CAL and where he's currently sitting on a 54-11 record over 5 seasons with 2 trips to the 3A finals and 2 state championships.

Kevin Wallace: 45-61 in 10 seasons at Warren East before taking over as head coach at Bowling Green where he went 254-41 in 22 seasons with 7 trips to the state finals and 5 state championships. Currently 55-19 in 6 seasons at St. X with 1 trip to the 6A state finals and 1 state championship.

When Keith Eckloff showed up at Seneca, the Redhawks hadn't won a game in over two seasons (a 26-game losing streak) and only had a single win in the previous four seasons, combined. In 2022, Coach Eckloff led the team to their first winning season in NINETEEN years, finishing with an 8-4 record. He had a 16-31 record in 5 seasons as head coach of the Redhawks. Prior to his arrival on Goldsmith Lane, you'd have to tally the wins from all the prior seasons going back to 2010 to come up with 16 more wins - that's 9 seasons to come up with as many wins as he had in 5. And one of his five seasons was completely shot to hell by COVID-19.

I had a coach quote Kevin Wallace to me in a conversation recently: "When I started coaching at Bowling Green, I realized why they don't run mules in the Kentucky Derby." There are times where you could be the absolute best coach in the world, but until you have the players and resources available to do so, you're just not going to be bringing home state championships. Coach Eckloff is a very good, very capable football coach. He's part of the Chris Wolfe coaching tree, which says a lot in and of itself. I expect Manual to do every bit as well as they ever have if not better under Eckloff.

[CoachKing2014]

Every coach at Manual has won a majority of their games, most in the 80% range.  I would say Eckloff will be in the same wheel house, but magnet transportation could possibly be ended so how that effects everything will be interesting.  If everything stays the same as it is, he will have a chance to do what the others have not, which is get over that hump to championship status or beat Male.  I think Dr. Lucas was the last coach to beat them, however I could be wrong on that.