Coach Noel Rash was announced as head coach at Conner back on June 19th after the untimely death of head coach Dave Trosper. As was mentioned in the 2025 Conner Cougars thread, Coach Rash gave an interview to the NKY Tribune on June 22nd and in the interview Coach Rash was quoted as saying, "I’m here to steer the ship for a year until they have the time to hire the right person for this job." The article gave a clear indication that Rash had only agreed to coach at Conner for 1 season as a stop-gap to get the school through the football season that was only 2 months away so they would have time to conduct a more proper hiring search for their next head coach.

That said, I haven't yet seen the job show up listed in the Boone County Schools employment portal.

Is the job going to be open? IS the job open? Or has Coach Rash possibly given some second thoughts to his initial 1-year plan at Conner?

11 hours ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Or has Coach Rash possibly given some second thoughts to his initial 1-year plan at Conner?

I hope this to be the case. 

On 11/18/2025 at 6:47 AM, Honey Badger said:

I hope this to be the case. 

From what I'm hearing, the Conner administration is doing what they can to convince Coach Rash to stay on.

47 minutes ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

From what I'm hearing, the Conner administration is doing what they can to convince Coach Rash to stay on.

Get the school a pool, sauna, massage chairs and a putting green. That's where I would start. But really, if he feels like he has a good 3-4 years in him I think he could get this program on the upswing and really set up a successor. If he left right now I don't know if there is any clue in what direction they are headed. The next hire needs to be the right one to keep this thing realistic.

Any names been around for this one? It's been pretty quiet.

Heard from a reliable source that Coach Rash met with the team briefly yesterday and informed them he was not returning as the head coach. 

I believe originally it was only for this season, Conner tried to get him to stay, he thought about it, and decided it was not in his best interest at this time.

Coach Rash took on the impossible challenge of replacing Coach Trosper after his tragic passing. He is a class act and should be commended for stepping in when he did! 

One thing I know, those kids are better off for having Coach Rash, even for one season, and I am sure he poured into those young men. 

With this news....who do they look at to lead this program?

 

I was able to confirm the Conner job is open.

Who should be on the short list?

6 minutes ago, theguru said:

I was able to confirm the Conner job is open.

Who should be on the short list?

One person I know that has been on staff for quite a while with head coaching aspirations is Chase Floyd. He has been the DC for the last 5 or so years and I know Coach Trosper was trying to work with him and help prepare him for the step up. At the very worst, he should get an interview!

You have to believe this job will get some strong candidates. Coach Trosper built a nice little program out in Hebron, and with the recent upgrades to the facilities with that beautiful fieldhouse - some good, quality coaches will more than likely apply.

I think this would be a good job for a young, family man. 

Could Conner follow the same path they did in basketball, and get their new football coach from Boone County in Dan Court. Similar to when they got Nathan Browning to leave Boone to come over to Conner?

1 minute ago, futurecoach said:

Could Conner follow the same path they did in basketball, and get their new football coach from Boone County in Dan Court. Similar to when they got Nathan Browning to leave Boone to come over to Conner?

Interesting thought, I just don't know that Coach Court has the resume but it is an interesting connection. 

2 minutes ago, AvidSportsJunkie856 said:

Interesting thought, I just don't know that Coach Court has the resume but it is an interesting connection. 

Good point. However, with more and more coaches leaving the profession than coming in. As we see with more and more coach openings every year. The days of getting people with big experienced resumes are going to be slim IMO. There is going to be a lot more either first time head coaches, or coaches with only a couple of years as head coaches filling more spots these days. 

5 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

Good point. However, with more and more coaches leaving the profession than coming in. As we see with more and more coach openings every year. The days of getting people with big experienced resumes are going to be slim IMO. There is going to be a lot more either first time head coaches, or coaches with only a couple of years as head coaches filling more spots these days. 

This is such an underrated post. So true! Coaching is a tough gig, even in high school.

How about Trevor Stellman?

If I'm AD at Conner I'm calling Kyle Niederman and hoping to make a deal. I'm not sure Niederman has any reason at the moment to make him inclined to leave one school-name-that's-also-a-first-name for another school-name-that's-also-a-first-name, but I'd at least be calling him and trying to get him interested in the move.