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Hiring Coaches Question


ObiOne

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This would mainly apply to 3A and below but all opinions welcome.  For those that have been around for a while, what is SOP for hiring non-football coaches when football coach is AD?  Does AD normally get to make the call on who the next softball/baseball/basketball should be?  Would these type jobs normally be posted and searched out by some sort of committee?  Anything in between?  Just curious as to what most schools normally have for protocol on these types of hires.  Thanks

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22 minutes ago, ObiOne said:

This would mainly apply to 3A and below but all opinions welcome.  For those that have been around for a while, what is SOP for hiring non-football coaches when football coach is AD?  Does AD normally get to make the call on who the next softball/baseball/basketball should be?  Would these type jobs normally be posted and searched out by some sort of committee?  Anything in between?  Just curious as to what most schools normally have for protocol on these types of hires.  Thanks

If you have to have a committee to hire people then you need to evaluate what the point of your AD is. 
 

Let the AD do the job they are hired for. 

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If you're talking about small schools the AD should get the final say so. The principal would have a say so also because of the classroom aspect. 

I've never seen a hiring committee for one of the positions you mentioned at a big school either. The only other person involved at a bigger school might be the department head and/or the principal assigned to the teaching field. 

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15 hours ago, ObiOne said:

This would mainly apply to 3A and below but all opinions welcome.  For those that have been around for a while, what is SOP for hiring non-football coaches when football coach is AD?  Does AD normally get to make the call on who the next softball/baseball/basketball should be?  Would these type jobs normally be posted and searched out by some sort of committee?  Anything in between?  Just curious as to what most schools normally have for protocol on these types of hires.  Thanks

I will give you the complete and total truth, no holds barred.

In this scenario the A.D. is the head football coach in a 3A or smaller school district.

1. Head Baseball Coach - will choose the best assistant football coach out of the applicants and hire him, unless the baseball program is better than the football program and he might get run out of town if he doesn't hire a good/great coach.

2. Head Basketball Coach - see above

3. Head Softball Coach - see above, unless the school is lucky enough to have separate boys and girls staffs, then the hire will be the coach with the most wins on their resume.

Head Football Coaches, who are also the AD, are looking out for themselves and football FIRST and foremost. Rarely do you get an AD who will sacrifice a spot on his football staff to get a great coach in another sport that he thinks is completely secondary.

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2 minutes ago, playactionpass39 said:

I will give you the complete and total truth, no holds barred.

In this scenario the A.D. is the head football coach in a 3A or smaller school district.

1. Head Baseball Coach - will choose the best assistant football coach out of the applicants and hire him, unless the baseball program is better than the football program and he might get run out of town if he doesn't hire a good/great coach.

2. Head Basketball Coach - see above

3. Head Softball Coach - see above, unless the school is lucky enough to have separate boys and girls staffs, then the hire will be the coach with the most wins on their resume.

Head Football Coaches, who are also the AD, are looking out for themselves and football FIRST and foremost. Rarely do you get an AD who will sacrifice a spot on his football staff to get a great coach in another sport that he thinks is completely secondary.

Soooo, you think the AD should not be the head football coach...

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11 hours ago, nationalpastime said:

If you're talking about small schools the AD should get the final say so. The principal would have a say so also because of the classroom aspect. 

I've never seen a hiring committee for one of the positions you mentioned at a big school either. The only other person involved at a bigger school might be the department head and/or the principal assigned to the teaching field. 

More recently, the principal has had more of a say so and has caused quite a few ADs to have to sift through multiple candidates

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Just now, RoughnedOdorsRightHook said:

i dont think thats what he was saying but its definitely the truth

If he cares about the other sports, that's what he is saying.  He is saying that the AD will hire football coaches and plug them in to other sports because he wants to win at football.  I believe he is right in many instances, but that is allowed behavior.  At small schools, with limited staffs, what are they supposed to do?  If they don't win at football, they will lose their job.

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A few years ago I saw an AD place his buddy, the assistant football coach as head basketball coach.  The buddy had never coached basketball and had a great group of players.  It was a very bad couple of years for those who cared anything about basketball.  I just wondered if that was standard procedure for most smaller schools or if some had a system or protocols in place to prevent issues like that from happening.  

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In the small schools that I've been a part of, the AD will find the candidates and come up with his selection.  Then the high school principal (or MS principal for that campus) will interview that candidate as well to make sure they can do the job in the classroom.  Typically, the superintendent will support the recommendation coming from the AD and principal and make the recommendation to the board.  Now, I know not everyone has the same experiences that I've had at small schools, but the teaching aspect has always been a part of the decision because as schools get smaller in faculty size, the coaching staff plays a much bigger role in the academic classes.  I have seen a few times where an inexperienced person has had to take over a sport, but it was because of the lack of applicants for the job, not just to improve football.

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8 minutes ago, ObiOne said:

A few years ago I saw an AD place his buddy, the assistant football coach as head basketball coach.  The buddy had never coached basketball and had a great group of players.  It was a very bad couple of years for those who cared anything about basketball.  I just wondered if that was standard procedure for most smaller schools or if some had a system or protocols in place to prevent issues like that from happening.  

I've seen this happen before.  I don't know if the situation you're mentioning was an intentional thing to try and "kill" the basketball program.  I've seen some schools where the most toxic coaches on staff were basketball coaches and the AD might have put a guy in place that he didn't feel was going to buck the athletic system.  I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just pointing out what I've seen in some places.

Some ADs will do that to try and get more of the basketball kids involved in football and possibly other sports.

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1 hour ago, JBizzle said:

Soooo, you think the AD should not be the head football coach...

Nope, not what I am saying at all.

I'm saying that school's that choose to go this route will probably be average in everything.

It is my opinion that Superintendents and School Boards should do a better job hiring AD's that actually have a plan to make all sports more competitive and not sacrifice one sport for the other.

AD's should be well rounded coaches with an interest and respect for all sports.

Who would you rather have as an AD? Which one will actually have the interest of all athletes in mind when making hires and putting an athletic plan in place?

Coach #1 - Only head coaching experience is a Head Football Coach, never even been an assistant head coach or first assistant in another sport.

Coach #2 - Head Coaching experience in baseball, basketball, powerlifting, golf as well as football and a first assistant in track.

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2 hours ago, playactionpass39 said:

Nope, not what I am saying at all.

I'm saying that school's that choose to go this route will probably be average in everything.

It is my opinion that Superintendents and School Boards should do a better job hiring AD's that actually have a plan to make all sports more competitive and not sacrifice one sport for the other.

AD's should be well rounded coaches with an interest and respect for all sports.

Who would you rather have as an AD? Which one will actually have the interest of all athletes in mind when making hires and putting an athletic plan in place?

Coach #1 - Only head coaching experience is a Head Football Coach, never even been an assistant head coach or first assistant in another sport.

Coach #2 - Head Coaching experience in baseball, basketball, powerlifting, golf as well as football and a first assistant in track.

Can you name a non Brock school that has gone the other way and not been average at everything? 

Your scenario is also extremely rare especially for 3A. Almost all HFC/ADs have some experience as an assistant and in multiple sports, and tons of coordinators hold head coaching experience in other sports and may be seeking a Head Football job.

 

To answer the thread. Committees are kind of a new trend and are only used for the AD and whatever title attached to it. Possibly a committee for head football coaches that aren't AD. All other hires will be made by the AD and principals (with a little input) as they will have to be an assistant in another sport, and teacher as well. 

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20 hours ago, ObiOne said:

This would mainly apply to 3A and below but all opinions welcome.  For those that have been around for a while, what is SOP for hiring non-football coaches when football coach is AD?  Does AD normally get to make the call on who the next softball/baseball/basketball should be?  Would these type jobs normally be posted and searched out by some sort of committee?  Anything in between?  Just curious as to what most schools normally have for protocol on these types of hires.  Thanks

A fair process would be a hiring committee.  Normally, it is just the AD.

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6 hours ago, ObiOne said:

A few years ago I saw an AD place his buddy, the assistant football coach as head basketball coach.  The buddy had never coached basketball and had a great group of players.  It was a very bad couple of years for those who cared anything about basketball.  I just wondered if that was standard procedure for most smaller schools or if some had a system or protocols in place to prevent issues like that from happening.  

Let's be careful on the great group of players comment. Just because your little Johnny was on the team doesn't mean there was a "great group of players." Where did this happen at?

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2 minutes ago, StaphClown said:

Let's be careful on the great group of players comment. Just because your little Johnny was on the team doesn't mean there was a "great group of players." Where did this happen at?

Several years ago.  It wasn't my little Johnny and mine doesn't play basketball... thanks for your concern.  But for some kids, these other than football sports are their main sport or only sport.  Some play select ball and work very hard at it year round.  I don't like to see any sport taken "lightly".  Not interested in calling out any particular school or coaches.  Just looking for information on how some schools handle it to see if any might have systems in place to help keep some sports/kiddos from being overlooked.

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22 hours ago, MavGrad99 said:

A fair process would be a hiring committee.  Normally, it is just the AD.

Who would be on the hiring committee?  The librarian, band director, head of maintenance, moms and dads of upcoming players, booster club president?  Most people do not have the experience to even ask appropriate questions in a coaching interview.  I didn't interview a lot, but when I was before a committee I was always amazed with some of the questions that were asked that had nothing to do with the job.   Let the people who will be held accountable for the supervision of the employee do the hiring then actually hold them accountable for the outcome.  

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On 5/19/2021 at 7:50 AM, playactionpass39 said:

I will give you the complete and total truth, no holds barred.

In this scenario the A.D. is the head football coach in a 3A or smaller school district.

1. Head Baseball Coach - will choose the best assistant football coach out of the applicants and hire him, unless the baseball program is better than the football program and he might get run out of town if he doesn't hire a good/great coach.

2. Head Basketball Coach - see above

3. Head Softball Coach - see above, unless the school is lucky enough to have separate boys and girls staffs, then the hire will be the coach with the most wins on their resume.

Head Football Coaches, who are also the AD, are looking out for themselves and football FIRST and foremost. Rarely do you get an AD who will sacrifice a spot on his football staff to get a great coach in another sport that he thinks is completely secondary.

I definitely think that happens but I think (and hope) it is becoming less of the norm. I've been around a long time and seen a lot of different scenarios but fortunately have always been hired because of my experience and success in a sport other than football.

In some cases I also coached football but never considered myself a "football coach" because of my lack of experience and knowledge. I WAS good at listening to what techniques the head coach wanted to be taught and tried to do exactly what he wanted.  

I think the rise in popularity of the other sports has helped dictate the need for hiring head coaches of other sports...as it should be.

Now to answer the original post...the AD usually hires the assistant coaches but it usually had to be a fit with what the principal of the campus needs or has openings for. The "good ole boy" system is still alive and well in places but I believe that system is fading fast. Just my two cents.

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Usually small schools do have committees which are made up of all the Coaches on Staff.  The AD works with all of them reaching out across the state in finding the best possible candidate for the job that is open.  If you as an AD do not use the resource of every coach on staff you are limiting yourself in finding the best candidate.  I have been on both sides of the desk and never seen nor done any hiring without either asking all assistant coaches or being asked to find out background info on every candidate that is being considered.  I also firmly believe that if you are a good coach you can transfer your abilities from sport to sport.  Therefore if you do a great job in one sport and don't do your job in another you really are not a Coach because you are trying to promote yourself more than the players.  

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13 minutes ago, 70Blood said:

Usually small schools do have committees which are made up of all the Coaches on Staff.  The AD works with all of them reaching out across the state in finding the best possible candidate for the job that is open.  If you as an AD do not use the resource of every coach on staff you are limiting yourself in finding the best candidate.  I have been on both sides of the desk and never seen nor done any hiring without either asking all assistant coaches or being asked to find out background info on every candidate that is being considered.  I also firmly believe that if you are a good coach you can transfer your abilities from sport to sport.  Therefore if you do a great job in one sport and don't do your job in another you really are not a Coach because you are trying to promote yourself more than the players.  

I definitely agree with using all the other coaches and all the coaching contacts that you know to find out about a possible new hire...I guess I just never thought of it as a "committee" I just thought that was the way things worked in the coaching world. 

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