The search is on to find the new athletic director and head football coach for the Escambia Academy Cougars with applications now being reviewed.

The position opened up following the Dec. 16 resignation of former athletic director Heath Gibson. Gibson stepped down after eight seasons leading the Cougars and 12 years at the School.

Thursday marked the beginning of the process to review applications that have been received from prospects not only in the state and region, but some from around the nation.

Once the job opening was put out to the public, a large number of applications began to file in, Escambia Academy headmaster Betty Warren said.

“At this point, we have taken applications and a committee began to review them on Thursday night,” she said. “We have had a huge number of applications sent in for the position. We have received them from coaches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi and Vermont.”

With so many applications to sort through, finding the right prospects for the position will take some time.

As the process gets underway, Warren and the school’s board look to find the candidate that will serve their student-athletes best interest.

The right person for the job will need to fit some hopes of Warren.
Knowledge and care are qualifications that top her list.

“The qualifications in our next person is the same as they have always been and we have been blessed to have here at EA,” she said. “ We are looking, first and foremost, for a Godly man.  We want this person to love the ‘EA family’, to have the knowledge, skill and ability to carry our athletic program forward to greater heights.  The athletes must be his primary concern not only in the area of athletics, but in the areas of academics and character building.”

With the qualifications set, the focus is now put on finding the athletic director and coach that meets those standards.

The process to find the right candidate to replace Gibson will take time, but move as swiftly as possible, she said.

“Our committee will be working as quickly as possible to find the right athletic director and coach,” she said.