GCHS

Bigger problem is probably staff salaries... As with most schools.

Wouldn't take much to do. lol

Agree, agree, and I agree.

My point is that you DO have to be in the room to know exactly what goes on... Everything else is hearsay - period. As far as Coach Perry -- maybe he is interested... If he is, he should be the guy (that much we agree on). fanyofyours asked for examples of things that go into hiring decisions that the public doesn't see/know - here are some: First choice declines to take the job. Staffing issues don't work out. References are not great. Someone gives a terrible interview. Someone gives a GREAT interview. Money/Resources at issue. LOTS of coaches interview just to keep their names out there, not because they want the job. Sometimes a good coach simply isn't a good fit for that school/program. These are just a few examples, there are literally countless reasons, beyond simple administrative malfeasance or incompetence, that one guy might get hired over another. I am not saying any of these are reasons why GC went the way they did before, but there are reasons that it happens. BTW, Booby, I have been on record posting that I think GC might have missed on a potentially great coach in John Hodge (FWIW, I think you are right - he probably will never coach at GC). I just disagree that Coach Scenters has not been good for the program. He won the school's ONLY regional championship (regardless what anyone thinks of the competition), and was pretty close to beating Belfry in the Semi-State game that year (it still goes down as one of the top 10 HS football games I have ever seen) - and he has done with class and character, IMO.

1) Mark Scenters was the shortest tenured coach since Gwen Gaddie (before Perry). 2) The job was just posted yesterday, so it is hard to see how Perry has "applied." 3) You are absolutely right that there are Garrard Alum coaching at other schools. I think, unless we were on the hiring committees, having the discussions, making the decisions, we should ALL refrain from speculating about why decisions were made. We can disagree, but to make assumptions about motives is unfair... There is so much that goes into the hiring of a coach the public doesn't see, that it really is impossible for people outside the process to make accurate assumptions.

Understand, I am not begrudging you your opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts on the direction of any team/program... I just don't think that everyone is entitled to their own facts. Seems to me that a lot of the "facts" you have been talking about fall more under the "opinon" label. Which isn't bad, just not really accurate.

This is the truest, most accurate thing you have said in this thread... The rest has been opinion masquerading as fact, if you ask me.

Sort of. I say sort of because I don't want this post to sound like a knock on Scenters, who I think was a really good hire. I think Hodge is from GC, so maybe he might have stuck around and continued to build and been one of those long-time, one-program coaches you don't see much of anymore. That said, Coach Scenters, from what I can tell, and what people around the program have told me, has done a great job - especially off the field, building character.

I agree. Scenters is definitely leaving that program better than when he got there. Think maybe they missed on a potentially great coach in John Hodge, though. That said, I certainly wouldn't call the Scenters hire a "miss," and I think the admin would be justified in making a similar hire.

Of course, there are boosters and parents, but I don't know that there is anyone who gives enough time or money to the program to have any reasonable expectation to help choose the next coach. I am sure that the Admin would listen to any suggestions, but at the end of the day, they are going to choose who THEY want, I would think.

I think that is true of most schools, now... I am not sure it is really possible, or even very good, for a coach to stick around over a decade now. There will always be exceptions, but it just isn't done much anymore.

I don't know who these people are that you are talking about putting "lots of money" into the program. From my understanding, there aren't a lot of big donors to the program. The community has always done a good job of supporting schools/athletics, but there aren't any deep-pocketed benefactors supporting GC Football, as far as I know.

You can forget Hester and Hodge. That will never happen... At least not the way things are, right now. Both would be great, but I just don't see it happening under the current circumstances. Don't know why Letton would take it, and I am pretty sure that it would only be short-term, if he did. Doug Preston is a possibility, but he has burned a lot of bridges, over the years. Perry seems like the most likely on the list - and he would be outstanding!

That said, Boyle does have good talent returning. The QB is as good an athlete as there is in that area.

I don't think people should sleep on Mercer, in that district, next year. A lot of people saw their playoff win over Boyle as a fluke, but they really dominated most of that game. Don't know if the Titans will win it, but they will be a factor.

Perry would be an absolute dynamite hire... Hard to see Bill Letton there, IMO.

Re-alignment could play a big role in this hire, unfortunately. 3A is probably gonna be stacked soon. My picks would probably be 1. Jerry Perry 2. John Hodge 3. Jeff Hester. Problem is, I don't think 2 of the 3 would take it under the best of circumstances... And this ain't the best of circumstances.

You are right... I didn't mean that as a slight to Scenters. Though I think everyone can probably agree that Smith > Scenters. I just meant that the kids are going feel like they got bailed on.

I agree that a man has to do what is best for him and his family... But, I am also surprised that Coach Smith made this move only a couple of weeks after making a commitment to another school - where I guarantee you he had a pretty good deal. Terrible for the kids at MC.

Hard to make that argument coming off an undefeated regular season. They have plenty of talent. It will be interesting to see what happens with the offense.

From what I know of Coach Smith, it has always seem like his is an honorable guy. I just don't know if he would give his word to coach at MC and then flip to Boyle a month or two later. There are also possibly some contract issues, if he has already signed a contract.

I think all the seasons' start times should change to make it easier. I coach, but I still think expanding the dead period would be okay. For me, the arguments about time and conditioning are being made obsolete by the prevalence of weight-lifting classes. I know not all schools have them, but most do, now. Let's be honest, the problems for 2/3 sport athletes usually has to do with poor relationships/communication amongst the coaches of those sports. At most schools in our state, you BETTER share athletes, or you are going to be very good in a couple of sports. Yet, many coaches have their little fiefdoms, and they want to monopolize their athletes. FWIW, I have always felt that, if a player is good enough, they will be found... Even if they aren't playing 300 bball games a summer, going to 10 football camps, or playing 1,000 baseball tourneys in summer and fall, etc.

Especially considering they will be 3A pretty soon.

I don't know... They have struggled to meet expectations lately, but, historically, Tilghman has been a really good program for a long time. Honestly, though, this could be my old-fartish bias against the "newcomer" LexCath. lol

True... And now, I think Central Hardin is definitely a good job, as well.