This just came up on my Facebook feed and I thought of this thread.

47 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Go to an elementary school in Lincoln Co. on a Sat. during the winter, and that will tell you everything you need to know about why the basketball program has been a mainstay.  Lincoln Co. has a basketball culture that is unmatched in this area, and it bleeds into the MS program and HS program.  Coach Jackson is an outstanding coach, but kids in Lincoln Co. grow up wanting to be a basketball players and make state tournaments.  It can still be a solid football school IMO.

Didn't the Middle School Basketball coach get ejected in a game at Bate and acted out of control? Didn't he almost get arrested? 

You have to support all sports. Football is / should be the revenue sport that funds other sports. There is nothing going on in Lincoln County on a Friday night, so there needs to be more support to build a football program from the bottom up. 

11 minutes ago, BobbyKnight said:

Didn't the Middle School Basketball coach get ejected in a game at Bate and acted out of control? Didn't he almost get arrested? 

You have to support all sports. Football is / should be the revenue sport that funds other sports. There is nothing going on in Lincoln County on a Friday night, so there needs to be more support to build a football program from the bottom up. 

I don't know about that... I was just speaking to the little league basketball system in place.  There's not a better one that I'm aware of.  I'm with you, and I think the program from the parents and community has been supported well.  They always have willing helpers and feed the boys before games.  The "Patriot Club" has went above and beyond to fund the HS program.  I'm not sure about the little league football program at Lincoln Co. though.  We have people on here acting like Lincoln Co. is the worst program in the state, and that's simply not true.  It can be a solid/probably not outstanding program.  

36 minutes ago, EagleRare20 said:

Has there ever been an effort made at the little league level to obtain a culture like that for football? It is my understanding that basketball is played year round at that level in Lincoln. 

It's been done before.  Coach French had some really good years and I thought Coach Crutchfield's tenure was successful as well.  I'm not sure it's feasible for every elementary school in the county to have individual teams like they do in basketball because of #s.

Didn't Lincoln go through a similar witch hunt in Girls basketball a few years back?

11 minutes ago, okie1 said:

Didn't Lincoln go through a similar witch hunt in Girls basketball a few years back?

Sure did.

From WPBK-FM Radio Station on Facebook.

“Coaching Search”

By Jonathan L. Smith

There have been 12 head football coaches at Lincoln County High School over a 50 year period. That works out to an average tenure of 4.16 years per coach.

The longest tenured coaches were Larry Phillips (1984-1990) for 7 seasons, followed by Marty Jaggers (1991-1996) and Mike Settles (2008-2013) each for 6 seasons.

Football coaches coming and going in a short time period at LCHS is not new, so Josh Jaggers resignation after two seasons, while not desirable, is not shocking.

Why has it been that way? There is not an easy answer.

There is no one person involved in the process who is common to all of the football hirings and departures. No principal, athletic director, or other school official is the same through the years. No group of parents are the same, and no factors, like talent levels, successful seasons or losing seasons, have been the same when it comes to turnover.

I could detail why each coach left when they did, but that does not tell us why there has never been a long term coach.

“It is what it is”, as people like to say.

In the same 50 years, the boys basketball team has had 7 head coaches (plus a one year interim head coach), for an average tenure of just over 7 years, with current head coach Jeff Jackson being in his 21st season.

The girls basketball team has had 8 head coaches in 50 years, with John Kolasa being the longest serving at 17 years, and the average tenure being just over six years.

If you back out each long-tenured coach in both the boys and girls basketball programs, the average tenure in those programs is similar to the football program.

As someone who has been a part of the football program as a player, as a broadcaster, and as a historian, I hope the next coach comes for the long run. I hope our program can have consistency and continuity. I hope a coach sticks around for twenty years.

I personally think the Lincoln football job is a good coaching job.

-The community support here is great.

-The crowds are huge and the money raised by boosters is quite substantial.

-The administrative and board support is all any coach could want as evidenced by the huge financial commitment made to the stadium and playing surface upgrades last year.

-The head coaching pay is one of the largest stipends in the surrounding area.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding this issue but I choose to focus on the positive.

Josh Jaggers is a personal friend of mine. He is one of the nicest, kindest, and most thoughtful men I’ve ever known—probably to his own detriment.

He’ll be a head coach again if he wants to be, and if that happens, I hope he accomplishes what his dad, Robbie Lucas, and Larry French all accomplished after leaving Lincoln County—that’s winning a state championship somewhere else.

Meanwhile, as an observer, I think Levi Rogers is the man for the Lincoln football job if he wants it.

He’s an LCHS alum (class of 2008). He is a true Patriot having played quarterback during the 2004-2007 seasons for Coach Larry French, guiding the Patriots to the school’s last regional championship in 2007.

Levi was a Lincoln football assistant coach when the position came open two years ago. Since then, he spent one season as an assistant coach at Southwestern and one season as head coach at Casey County.

In fact, in his first game as a head coach at Casey County, he marched his Rebels on to Billy Ed Leedy Field and left with a 10-6 Death Valley Bowl victory.

Whoever the next coach is, I will give them my full support as I have always done. That’s what all true Patriots will do.

10 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Five high schools - Stanford in the county seat, Crab Orchard, Hustonville, McKinney, and Waynesburg Memorial all in the county. Only Stanford played football. Basketball has long been very strong in the county. I've spoken with multiple football coaches from Lincoln County over the years who said their roster was primarily Stanford kids with a much small percentage coming from out in the county.

You’re right on the nail with this comment. I’ll say this the biggest down fall to Lincoln football was the parks and rec taking over youth football. The high school football team had a killer feeder system back when it was at the school ran by the lions club. Travis Lefew started the school based youth football his last year here and it showed producing over 200 football players 3rd grade - 6th grade. 

On 2/3/2024 at 9:47 PM, LethalPG said:

I’m sorry like I said we can not agree.  A 6”5 240 running and throwing QB would be my pick as best Casey Co. Football player in years.  Not exactly a powerhouse program. 

Best player I would say going back to 2016 when Casey had DJ White. 

13 hours ago, LethalPG said:

Go to an elementary school in Lincoln Co. on a Sat. during the winter, and that will tell you everything you need to know about why the basketball program has been a mainstay.  Lincoln Co. has a basketball culture that is unmatched in this area, and it bleeds into the MS program and HS program.  Coach Jackson is an outstanding coach, but kids in Lincoln Co. grow up wanting to be a basketball players and make state tournaments.  It can still be a solid football school IMO.

You can think Eric Ralston for the middle school success. I think when Coach Jackson retires Eric would be my first call. Eric can flat out Coach. Football at Lincoln will never win being in the same District and region as Boyle County and Corbin. I'll also say Lincoln County Middle School football team was terrible this year, so really after this upcoming Junior class graduates Lincoln will struggle big time! 

My Sr. year at Boyle our biggest win that year was a huge upset of Lincoln County.  Boyle found success down the road with the right combination of Coach, administration and support.  It can be done, but you really need all three.  Lincoln never can get the right three at the same time, but it can be done.  

2 hours ago, BEChargers said:

My Sr. year at Boyle our biggest win that year was a huge upset of Lincoln County.  Boyle found success down the road with the right combination of Coach, administration and support.  It can be done, but you really need all three.  Lincoln never can get the right three at the same time, but it can be done.  

I don't think there is a better post than this one. Lincoln along with many other places can't get all 3. 

Will Coach Rogers say yes? Seems to be the name mentioned but as we all know, coaching searches are often full of surprises. Will he accept it offered? 

4 hours ago, UKBaseball85 said:

Will Coach Rogers say yes? Seems to be the name mentioned but as we all know, coaching searches are often full of surprises. Will he accept it offered? 

I am going to say he would accept. Its unfortunate for both Jaggers -Lincoln after two season and Rogers - Casey 1 season.

I wish both the best in their future career moves.  

On 2/2/2024 at 11:10 AM, BobbyKnight said:

Maybe the KHSAA Should mandate a fall break / open week for ALL teams/schools ? It also may help with Officials,  since there is a shortage of them as well. 

Wouldn't that make the shortage of officials worse? You wouldn't need any during the fall break/bye week.  But if everyone took off the same week, that would mean every team is playing the rest of the weeks.