Mr.Network

I was told someone else would supervise weight lifting if necessary. It was an act of the individual coaches, not the school/program. Weight lifting will continue.

We just need one more at a time. Don’t think about 500, just think about the next one! C’mon, I know you can do one more!

Ax-grinding, misinformation, and subterfuge. This thread would make a good novel. All personal biases aside and as objectively as possible, who do you think is the best coach available to Lincoln? In my mind, it has to be someone with a plan to rejuvenate the feeder program, and probably someone with experience in doing so. The next coach will likely get major support from the Fiscal Court, which operates the youth football league. He will need to be energetic, hard-working and a ground-up program builder. Who fits the bill?

I don’t know. I have never hired a head football coach or been one. Of the two, Rogers has much more experience than Cooper, and is the better candidate on paper. My comment wasn’t as clear as it could have been but what I really meant was that if we knew it was going to work out for the long-term, I’d be fine with both/either. I’ve supported every coach who’s been there and I will continue to do so. The program needs consistency and success, badly. If that’s from homegrown guys, that’s even better.

This couldn’t be more wrong. Don Story, Athletic Director at the time, brought Larry French to Lincoln County. What hires have been wrong/bad? The coach after Larry French was highly-accomplished and sought after. If his wife at the time was not from Lincoln, I doubt he would have come when he did. The Coach after that was already on staff and was a known entity with the admin at the time. He’s a football guy, through and through. Then, the most recent coach was cherry-picked by his alma mater after being seen as successful at Lincoln. Hindsight is 20/20 but the losing seasons at Lincoln over the last twenty years are not a product of hiring wrong coaches, or having coaches who are incompetent. Personally, I hope either Levi or Daniel get the job, turn it all around, and stay for 30 to 40 years and becomes a coaching legend. That’s what the program needs—consistently and success—from a long term coach (and a feeder program that is pumping out Jimmys and Joes like the good old days).

That’s what I’m working towards……

You’re right. I need to quit posting while trying to work. Lol

10-34 (2014-2017)- Leffew 21-23 (2018-2021)- Crutchfield Since a 6-5 record in 2000, Lincoln County has had four winning seasons in the past 21 years: 2006 (10-2) Larry French 2007 (11-3) Larry French 2018 (7-5) Spencer Crutchfield 2020 (5-4) Spencer Crutchfield

You are 100% correct. The feeder system has been the #1 issue for a long time, at least since the middle school opened in 1994. We thought the middle school would be a benefit, but it ended up being a liability and funneled the kids into one team too soon. When I played youth football, there were 5 teams through the 8th grade. We started freshman football with 30 well-coached players. The middle school has had the effect of weeding out players before they have fully developed, and they move on to some other activity. Football is a numbers game and it has hurt the numbers. It’s been a long time since LCHS had 30 freshman playing football. We need buy-in with the Fiscal Court, who now run youth football, by way of the Parks and Recreation Department. Little league football, run by the Lions Club, was very strong and competitive from the early 60s until the late 90s. It has fallen off significantly under Parks and Recreation, and for LCHS to be successful, it has to be revamped. I think that is a non-negotiable point that the decision makers understand and are willing to insist on from the new hire—helping revamp the feeder system. And, any coach taking the job should want that.

Maybe they are “waiting” for a good reason.

It’s not the updated version.

I’ll be your agent. How many hoodies do you want, and will you need a laundry service with that?

All true. Levi is a Patriot through and through, and is a hometown hero of Lincoln football.

Feel free to post their resumes. That’s all I have, as neither has been a head coach, played in a state title game, coached in one, or been a Mr. Football finalist. I have tracked Josh’s career, for my historical records, as the son of a former LC head coach. Everything in the “resume” I posted came from media reports or other public information through the years. I like both Rogers and Cooper, and have known their families a long time. There was no intent to slight either one.

The names most mentioned here all are “Lincoln County guys.” Levi Rogers is a 2008 LCHS grad, and was the career passing yardage leader until surpassed by Bryson Yaden, and that was on a team that Levi was the assistant coach. He played at Lincoln for Larry French, and coached at Lincoln with Leffew and Crutchfield, and his father played at Lincoln in the late 70s and early 80s. Daniel Cooper is also a former player and is a current teacher in the system, having graduated LCHS in 2016. He played for both Settles and Leffew, his father played for Wooldridge, and his grandfather played at Stanford High. His history with football at Lincoln is kinda like Crutchfield’s at Garrard. Josh Jaggers spent his most formative years in Lincoln County, attending school there from the 4th through 9th grades, and playing football for one season—his father’s last at Lincoln as head coach. Josh lived and died with the Lincoln football teams of the early and mid 90s, and what many may not know, is that he deep-down wanted to stay at Lincoln when Marty resigned. Eventually, the family moved to Danville and Josh enrolled there. Also, you may find it interesting to know that Josh wore a Lincoln football shirt under his pads for every game during the three years he played at Danville. In my opinion, Josh considers two places home—Larue County, where his mother is from, and Lincoln County where he has so many good memories. Will Josh take the job if offered? Only Josh knows that, but to say that Lincoln needs a Lincoln guy, is ignorant to Josh’s history, and to imply that he isn’t a proven head coach is silly. While he doesn’t have a winning record at Larue County, he’s been in a pretty tough alignment and has fared better than anyone else there. Josh Jaggers football resume: -2000 Danville graduate -Played one season at Lincoln County 1996; attended Lincoln County schools 4th through 9th grades -Ball-boy/Coach’s son at Lincoln County 1991-1995 -1 state runnerup as player (Danville 1998) -1 state title as Assistant Coach (2006 Mercer County) -Mr. Football finalist 1999 -1st Team All-state lineman 1999; 2nd Team 1998 -Advocate Messenger Lineman of the year 1999, All-Area team three years (1997, 1998, 1999) -UK Scholarship-player, signed 2000 -Finished football career at Campbellsville University (2005 graduate) -Named to 2004 NAIA All Mid-South Conference first team offense -Assistant coach North Hardin 2005 (1 season) -Assistant coach at Mercer County 2006-07 (2 seasons) -Assistant coach Larue County 2008-2011 (4 seasons) -Head Coach Larue County 2012-2014 (3 seasons), record 8-26, including 0-11 season in 2013 -Assistant Coach John Hardin 2015-2016 (2 seasons), after resigning at Larue County after losing confidence of administration. -Head Coach Larue County 2017-Present (5 seasons), record of 30-23. Best season was 10-2 in 2017, deepest playoff run was semifinals loss to Lou. Central in 2018; won the school’s second region title since playoffs started in 1959 -Overall head coaching record 38-49 over 8 seasons. -Playoff results: (1) semi-final appearance; (3) 2nd round losses; (4) first round losses -Playoff record: 6-8

Two days ago or nine days ago?

It’s Day-1 of the process. I don’t know of anyone who has said Levi Rogers wouldn’t be considered, offered, or even hired. I’ve only seen the mark-my-words consequences of him not being hired that have been posted here. Levi is a hometown hero, leading the Patriots to the 5A semifinals in 2007. His contributions are well-known and appreciated, both as a player and coach. Unfortunately, the district has experience at hiring a football coach, having hired five over the past twenty years, and will follow their process. I personally think they did a good job of vetting and hiring each one during this stretch. They all were accomplished and competent, two of which won state titles after leaving (Lucas and French), and two others not becoming head coaches after leaving (Settles and Leffew). Maybe Spencer will make it three for three on head coaches winning titles elsewhere after leaving. I hope so.

Agreed. The school has to share its top athletes. This past year’s football team looks very different with a couple of basketball-only kids whose dads and uncles were big-time contributors to past football success. Some of Coach Jackson’s best teams were led by basketball/football players. People like Ryan Young, Braxston Miller, and Trent Calhoun.

You can’t make kids play football who want to be the next NBA star. One of the current basketball stars was a man-child on the 8th grade basketball team. I saw his daddy, who I played with through youth football and high school, and this conversation took place: Me: Your boy would look good in a football uniform. Him: He don’t wanna play, and he doesn’t like contact or the effort football takes. I have heard the allegations about certain players being told that that they couldn’t play both football and basketball, and have never been able to confirm it. If anyone reading this has first-hand knowledge of it, I’d be interested in hearing it. Jeff Jackson is an extremely good basketball coach, and I have the utmost respect for him. His success shouldn’t be criticized because of a fall-off in the football program. The football program lacks what made it so competitive in the 80s and 90s—a solid feeder program. When I played youth football, we played through the 8th grade, and there were six teams in the county: three in Stanford and one each in Crab Orchard, Waynesburg, and Hustonville. At that time, the youth league was operated by the Lions Club and was always very well done. Youth football is now under the county Parks and Recreation department and is not well executed. And, while we thought the consolidated middle school, that started in 1994, would be beneficial for football, it has been the opposite. Too many kids are getting weeded out by the 8th grade, and they move on to other sports or activities. Basketball, on the other hand, still has grade school teams through the 5th grade and then has a very robust middle school program that has been very beneficial. Football is a numbers game, basketball isn’t. The next football coach needs to be involved in the feeder program, including the middle school. Marty Jaggers always liked to talk about Jimmies and Joes, and your X’s and O’s don’t matter without them. More students need to play football, and they need to get interested in it and stay interested.

I know who it will be, but I’m not telling. Lol Thought I’d be the first to post that in this thread.

It’s official now at Lincoln, Spencer has resigned.

Yes, he held secret practices without the assistants, and openly discussed someone sabotaging him. Larry Vaught actually talked to at least one head coach, whose team Sullivan claimed knew the plays before the ball was snapped. That coach denied it and explained how they were able to read the play from personnel and formations. The difficulty mainly stemmed from hard feelings that the other two assistants had from being passed over, but they weren’t sabotaging him, they were sulled-up to a degree. All three would have been capable head coaches but Sullivan got the nod. At the season-end banquet he resigned. The players, administration, and supporters were shocked and didn’t expect it. The next year, he was still teaching geometry and coaching the line, as always, just not as the head coach. The other assistants were gone. Sullivan came back to Lincoln after being the head coach at Garrard, and was an assistant on the 1990 state runnerup team.

Right, but neither Wooldridge nor Sullivan left as head coach to be head coach at the other school. This will be the first. The Wooldridge and Crutchfield situations are very similar in some regards: (a) First head coaching job for each that they left to go home; (b) both were student-athlete hometown heroes at the school/town they went back to coach (however Wooldridge came as an assistant coach for the newly consolidated Lincoln County central school and would be an assistant for five years before being named head coach); (c) both were quarterbacks and multi-sport athletes. Sullivan was a different story altogether. He was originally from Wisconsin, was an assistant coach for seven years at LCHS, was named head coach for one year (1983), and resigned without any pressure. Then, he worked for one year as an assistant to the new coach at Lincoln before taking the Garrard head coach job. Wooldridge did much better at Lincoln than he did at Garrard, Sullivan did better at Garrard than he did at Lincoln. This will be the first real head football coach poaching since Larry Woods left Garrard as head coach to be an assistant at Lincoln in 1985. Ultimately, Larry became the Superintendent of Lincoln County schools so maybe that Spencer’s plan at Garrard!

We’re better on the media side…….especially me. I have neither the inclination nor the expertise to coach.

No official word. The proverbial ball is in Garrard’s court. Spencer has done a good job at Lincoln, but his whole family is connected for generations to Garrard and Lancaster football, going back 100 years. If he is happier at home, that’s where he should be.