By By Adam Prestridge
Round two of interviews for the vacant head football coach’s position at Escambia County High School will be held today, school officials said Friday.
According to Principal Harvey Means, an eight-person hiring committee and school administrators including him will interview four to five applicants today in hopes of finding the person who will lead the Blue Devils on the gridiron next season.
Means was unable to confirm if personnel from the Escambia County Board of Education in Brewton would sit in on the interview process because it would be held on the weekend. However, he said someone from the school board would “possibly” be on hand.
Despite indications last month that a new football coach and athletic director would be recommended for hiring at the monthly school board meeting, no action was taken. Means cited issues in "clarification of certification" with some applicants as well as "verification of backgrounds." This week, he maintained his stance on the issue.
Means confirmed that the application process was reopened briefly allowing some additional candidates to apply that were previously interested in the job.
The ultimate goal is for the new football coach to serve as the athletic director, but again, Means said it depends on the interviews.
During the initial round of interviews, Means, along with a six-person hiring committee and personnel from the school board interviewed 10 candidates from a pool of 45-50 applicants from “all over the country,” Means said. Despite showing confidence in those candidates, Means believes the next coach is among the current finalists.
Means, who said last month that the “final” decision rests on his shoulder, did, however, state that he was not going to rush the process in hopes of finding someone who would lead the football program for years to come.
If the hiring committee finds the right person for the job this weekend, Means said a recommendation would be made to Superintendent Billy Hines who would then make a recommendation to the school board, which will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday at W.S. Neal High School.