Cynical

I understand both and realize as a coach for 25+ years. I work in a district that paid the Head Coach before me 18% of salary which in the 80's was around 17,000. I do not know many coaches that have a supplement of over $10,000.00 today. Young coaches trying to provide for families has become very difficult and those that have been around awhile might be raising grand kids. The entire landscape of coaching has changed and if districts do not fix this problem then the kids will suffer even more.

Not sure about your math here...that would mean a salary of $17,000 = 18% of a salary would mean that your salary was $94,444

18% of a $50,000 salary (which didn't exist for TEACHERS with anything under 20+ years teaching in the 1980's, if that) would still only be $9,000 on top of the $50,000.

They never could beat Mayfield...Mayfield has had their hands full with Russellville...I say Beechwood continues its inability to even get it done.

Poor pay...seemingly dangerous legalities...continuous restrictions...huge money issues...difficulties finding help...

It goes on and on...

The gap between experienced quality HC's and the majority of the coaches in the state is only going to widen. It's a tough gig. Tip of the hat to the men who make the sacrifices to do it.

They should be a pretty solid football team. Lots of guys back off a team that had some quality wins early on.

Boredom...after awhile, a man needs a new challenge.

Just a quick quest for devils58: Did Owensboro take a full month off rather than the normal two week Dead Period, as Coach Prince suggests we all do in the future?

Chaffin started out as a coach in the late 90's at Warren East under then HC and now BGHS DC Mark Spader. He then went to Franklin where he was a part of several quality teams and coached LB's from 2004-2006. He then began a long stint (2007-2012) at BGHS as the OLB's coach and was part of one State Runner-Up and two State Championships. He worked under longtime DC Jeff Griffith (now the HC at Barren Co.) and KY future Hall of Fame HC Kevin Wallace. In 2013 he jumped on the opportunity to be a DC again when BGHS OL coach Chris Seabolt took the HC job at Greenwood. Over the last two years, he and Seabolt have been changing the culture at Greenwood, and making positive strides. Chaffin becomes the seventh HC at WEHS since 1994, and the first alumni to take the position since Kevin Wallace left in 1993.

Chaffin is a highly intelligent coach and a fanatically driven one. He will undoubtedly focus on a strong defense built around putting as much speed on the field as he can. It will be interesting to see who he can get as an offensive coordinator. East returns a very strong OL coach and several other quality assistant coaches.

The hire was the one the school needed to make and an excellent one.

Replace the NFL looking DL they had and find a wide variety of ways to get the ball to that Soph. WR they've got.

Bob Sphire....

Makes sense. Radier would you say this hire is more critical than when the past coach was hired? The AD there at W.E. has a good reputation throughout the state. The Principal has a bad reputation (at least what I have been hearing). Also, how do you think that new district stacks up?

I think any ills that have been made of the Principal are highly overstated. Since being there she has done an excellent job with the basketball hire and has brought in an Assistant Principal in Mr. Young who is a former Raider and college football player and a pro-athletics guy. The AD is top notch. It is what I would characterize as an excellent administration for a coach to work for.

I'll pick up where we left off in the Owensboro thread...

East did lose a solid SR class. Gone are Eli Brown (UK commit), their two other best LB's on Defense, and four of five starters on the OL, all of whom were 6' - 6'3 250+ guys. They must also replace a fair amount of their skill players. 2014 was probably their best chance to make a run at 4A since 2012 when they lost in the semi's but a rash of injuries put the brakes on that.

If you look at East, you'll see a pretty consistent trend of being down and then getting really good.

Playing Well...

2000 5-5 - Not a great looking record, but it must be remembered that they were playing against Owensboro, Franklin, BG, W. Central, and a very good Allen Co. in the District alone.

2001 5-5 - See above

Going Down...

2002 2-8

2003 2-8

2004 2-8

Going Up...

2005 7-4

2006 10-2 - Only two loses were to BG in the old 4 class system

2007 11-3 - Lost in the semi's 38-35 to Lone Oak

Going Down...

2008 4-7 - Underachievers

2009 1-9 - Brutally bad team

Going Back Up

2010 2-9 - Played a brutal schedule, started 19 Freshmen or Sophomores

2011 7-4

2012 13-1 - Disappointing performance in the semi's

Leveling Out...

2013 7-5 - Won a playoff game

2014 8-4 - Just too many injuries for what was a very good team

And now...

2015 ???

One could say that East may struggle a bit in 2015, but the demographics of the school has changed so drastically in the last ten years that it is conceivable that East repeats with another 6-6 to 8-4'ish season. My prediction is that East finishes the 2015 season around .500 and then takes off again as South Warren graduates a lot and Warren Central gets hit hard by graduation.

I would not anticipate them being down much...they return the Reynolds kid who is probably the second best Fr. prospect in the state behind the kid from Manual. To give you an idea, Reynolds is the cousin of former East players Shenard Holton (UofL) and Eli Brown (UK) and was the District POY as a Freshman this season. They additionally have a solid stock of athletes...if anything, East may suffer a bit because of the strength of their District (South Warren, Warren Central, Franklin, Allen) but I would expect them to be a consistent top 15 team in 4A for the next three years with a chance to be special in 2016 and '17.

They might not but is Warren East going to? Rumor is that he has applied at Warren East? Any one have any info on that?

Who East will hire is a mystery to me these days. I do know they have a strong applicant pool.

I got nothing. I literally have heard nothing except a random text about Guy Morris possibly being interested.

As crazy as this may sound...I think Owensboro is a little bit too big a job for Morris.

Owensboro is going to draw an applicant pool of the best and brightest in not only most of KY, but also some from the Evansville area...I can't see them wanting to hire a guy who is already at retirement age, has no ties to the area, and who is financially able to up and leave at any second.

Football wise, I'd rather be the OC at X than the HC at about 90% of the schools out there. JMO

They're going to be really, really, really good. Good luck 4A.

 

Almost certain that the only football coaches that are paid are: head coach, head Frosh coach, O coordinator and D coordinator

If that's true, it makes Cov. Cath an even harder sell in my book. That is brutal.

...but again, I reiterate what several others have said, and what I said in my initial post: Cov. Cath is a good job relative to the rest of the state. Though, I think this tread has shown some major warts that may have been too much for the last staff to overcome...or the next staff too.

Funny, nobody was using this excuse when Coach Ray was here, winning state titles. :popcorn:

So does the University of Miami get to say, "Nobody was talking about these problems back when so-an-so was winning championships?"...I mean, times change, problems arise...and the answers from 15-30 years ago often don't answer the problems of today.

You all raise another problem I see...

Building a Quality Staff. Think about the Private School argument, and now try and hire top-flight help (like Cov. Cath should have) for lesser positions and no retirement. Yikes! Not to mention with having to compete with some of the nation's top athletics private schools right across the river for the small pool of coach/teachers that do want to jump into that particular job market.

1. There are a lot of benefits to a private education. Every teacher cares about every kid for starters. None of them are coasting into retirement.

There are tremendous advantages to a private education, no doubt, but teachers MUST consider retirement. And moreover, my point is more aimed at Cov. Cath trying to convince that proven coach who is 19 years vested in KTRS to come be theirs. That's where my point hits. It cuts such a large group of coaches out in my opinion. It cuts the field down tremendously IMO.

2. Nobody wants to beat the 3rd ,8th or 14th best team in the state for a championship. To be the best you need to play and beat the best. I enjoy the CCH Highlands series. Not the results the past 8 years, but I do enjoy the game. Mutual respect among the teams.

I think it's one of the best rivalry's in the state...but at the end of the day, you want the gold ball. How you got that sucker is forgotten in the rings, banners, and trophies. But I respect the Cov. Cath faithful for their desire to do it the tough way.

3. Facilities are a work in progress. Improvements are on the way.

It seems like this has been said for a long time. After awhile, you gotta come on and get them done.

4. Every team's expectations should be to win. That is why you keep score.

Fair, but you also have to give yourself a chance to win. Cov. Cath has proven it doesn't have the players to compete with its level of schedule year in and year out and stay healthy enough to make a real playoff push...yet the fans still clamor for this level of competition and then heads roll when what everyone knew would happen happens. Red flag.

5. Cov Cath parents historically are very supportive of the coaching staff for all sports and faculty as well. Just like at any other school (or business for that matter.) there are complainers that should be kept in perspective.

I agree...and admit ignorance. Just based this point on a perception built solely on what I have read here, not at all in facts.

Why would it be odd?

 

I had someone else tell me it was "pure adrenaline fueled insanity" because of the state of the program at Barren.

Barren is actually set up to be pretty good next year. they return just about everyone off of what was a very competitive team before injuries hit them hard.

I take it back...it wouldn't be odd...as that nothing will surprise me anymore after today.

That would be an odd move...but it's been an odd day...

For most High School football coaches looking at Cov. Cath, is it really that great a job?

Let me start by acknowledging that Cov. Cath is in fact a very good job relative to most in KY...BUT then let me also present these obstacles that may show that its underbelly leaves a lot to be desired.

Problem 1: It's a private school. That means you're giving away years when it comes to retirement. It also means you're not going to have great salaries (usually). This nix'es a lot of good potential candidates.

Problem 2: Highlands. You can't get away from them. Their feeder system is better, their staff in place is better, their facilities are better, and the quality of players they get seems to be better. On top of that, they've hoodwinked the boys in blue.

Problem 3: Facilities. Still no lights? Seriously? That can be a pain in the butt. Who really wants to play half their games on Saturday when there's college football, yard work, and a million other things that need to be done? This works in conjuncture with Problem 1...as the HC at Cov. Cath., it's not like you're going to be making 25K just to coach...your free time is still valuable.

Problem 4: Expectations. There is almost no way to have a great season at Cov. Cath without winning it all. And 5A is too good with Highlands and BG to win it all a lot. So even when you right the ship and make it to the Regional Final and fight Highlands tooth and nail, it's still a down year (ahem). On top of that, you're expected to play a brutal schedule. Some will say these expectations are a benefit, but when you're playing way above average teams with slightly above average players, it's a struggle.

Problem 5: Parents. I'm not around there so I can't say this is a real problem, but it sure sounds like one from what I read on here. Again, that's just speculation.

I could be totally off...and I'm sure that a lot of the NKY contingent will say that I am, but when you look at all that, Cov. Cath just isn't the shining star it's made out to be. A good job no doubt, but one that comes with a lot of baggage.

Has BYU fallen to a mid-major type program??

I bolded and italicized the word major 'cause I figured some would be a little slow to catch it...lot of good that did...Hodge was not a major DI-A recruit by any means. In fact, he was a very low one. Per Rivals.com he had ONE offer: BYU. He didn't pick up a single offer from his own home state nor the school right across the river. I have lobbied for him as a great player on other threads but if you want to try selling him as a major DI-A recruit, you're kidding yourselves. I included my original post below...not that I expect it to be read accurately.

...Highlands had zero major DI-A recruits on this team which means that big schools have little to no reason to go scout them as a high priority...

Sorry, I disagree...exposure is everything and Highlands gets exposure.

 

It had everything to do with changing schools imo, the speed changed too. I actually commented on your speed reference when Highlands played WC this yr. Highlands speed was the difference in that game and of course the coaching...:thumb:

DI-A offers come largely at the completion of one's JR year and headed into their SR year...he had zero at Highlands. Highlands had zero major DI-A recruits on this team which means that big schools have little to no reason to go scout them as a high priority. The state's three top players this year played at Madison Southern, Warren East, and Woodford Co. Where you play has little to do with garnering actual offers.