H.S. FOOTBALL: NA getting closer to hiring new football coach

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May 4, 2011

Unruh hopes to have someone in place by May 16

By KEVIN HARRIS Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Wed May 04, 2011, 12:14 AM EDT

NEW ALBANY — Slowly but surely, New Albany High School is getting closer to hiring a new head football coach.

New Albany athletic director Don Unruh says he hopes a coaching candidate will be recommended to the New Albany-Floyd County school board by its next meeting on Monday, May 16.

The school has been searching for a new coach after 11-year Bulldogs’ head coach Kevin Roth resigned from his post on Nov. 23, 2010. Roth was 59-58 in his New Albany tenure, guiding the Bulldogs to Hoosier Hills Conference and Class 5A Sectional 8 titles in 2002.

Unruh said more than 45 people applied for the coaching vacancy. He has interviewed 14 of the 45 candidates, and six of those 14 coaches have been asked back for second interviews. Unruh says he is currently finalizing second interviews.

“They have a wide variety of backgrounds and we have talked to a lot of good people,” Unruh said about the pool of applicants.

New Albany is not the only school in the state looking for a new head coach. Thirteen head coaching openings are currently listed on the Indiana Football Coaches Association website. In addition, the Bulldogs’ chief rival, Jeffersonville, also is searching for a new head coach after the sudden resignation of Bob Redman about a month ago. Jeff’s coaching opening is not listed on the IFCA website.

Unruh says New Albany’s and other schools’ coaching searches have taken longer because of the impact of education cuts throughout the state. New Albany-Floyd County Schools are among school corporations across Indiana to make such cuts. For instance, the school board canceled the contracts of 38 teachers last month.

“We’ve worked several months to get this opening filled. School budgets and layoffs have made for a longer process,” Unruh said. “It’s been a factor and it’s affected everybody. If you look up and down the state, more than half of the coaching vacancies are still open.”

Unruh says it is crucial that the school can hire its new coach by the time school lets out for the summer on Tuesday, May 31. The New Albany AD says a new coach must be in place to conduct summer conditioning programs, team camps during the summer to learn new offensive and defensive systems and possibly get the Bulldogs ready for offseason seven-on-seven tournaments.

In addition, hiring a new coach is necessary to keep current players interested in New Albany football.

“There is no doubt it’s vitally important to hire someone before school gets out,” said Unruh, who mentioned that New Albany assistant coaches have been keeping in touch with players by running weightlifting sessions. “The summer program is very important. To keep them excited in the summer, we need someone in here by the first of June.”

Unruh says the most important attribute he looks for in a coach is strong leadership skills.

“That’s the most important quality any coach can have,” Unruh said. “Leadership qualities are the first thing that come to mind. We want a leader to get people excited about New Albany football.”

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