Cooper expects to have a new head football coach identified within the next 10 days, athletic director John Windham said Monday.
Windham, who stepped down as the Pirates? head coach in December to become the school?s first full-time athletic director, said the school?s search committee has conducted six interviews with potential candidates and expects to do four-to-six more before a finalist is chosen at the Lubbock Cooper Independent School District board meeting on Jan. 24.
?We?re in the middle of interviews, going through and pulling names,? Windham said. ?It?s gone great. The process has been smooth, and the interview committee we?ve put together has called in some great candidates, both internally and externally. So it?s gone well.?
According to a statement on the Cooper ISD web site written by superintendent Pat Henderson, the search committee is composed of Windham, deputy superintendent Thom Vines, assistant superintendent Macy Satterwhite, human resources director Will Truby and Cooper High School principal Angie Inklebarger.
In the statement, Henderson said the committee will ?narrow the field of applicants to three or four finalists,? and will discuss those choices with the school board at its Jan. 24 meeting. From there, the committee will rank the finalists and send its recommendation for a new head football coach to Henderson, who will take that recommendation to a special board meeting to be held either in late January or early February.
Applications will be accepted through Friday. Windham, who stepped down as head coach on Dec. 13, did not list any candidates or interview subjects by name.
?I think we?re moving fairly quickly,? Windham said. ?We want to make sure we get the right candidate and everybody understands the process. We?ve been thorough and doing our due diligence so we can get the right man for the job.?
Windham spent 17 years at the school and his entire 14-year head-coaching stint with the Pirates, compiling an 80-70 career record with five district championships, seven playoff appearances and three bi-district titles. His 2001 team that made the playoffs ended a 29-year postseason drought for the school.
The Pirates have captured two district championships in the past five years, and made their deepest run in the postseason in 2010, reaching the regional semifinals. A big part of the reason for splitting the jobs of head football coach and athletic director, Windham said, was the anticipated move to Class 4A in the very near future.
That can be seen in the growth Cooper has experienced in all sports over the past decade. The school?s volleyball, girls basketball, softball and baseball programs routinely make deep runs in the playoffs, and in 2011 every sport at the school reached the postseason.
In terms of facilities, a new football stadium, new fieldhouse and indoor practice facility, plus new softball and baseball fields were constructed all within the last five years.
With the move to 4A, Windham anticipates the athletic department will continue to grow in size and in number of sports offered, feeling that golf, tennis and soccer are right around the corner to being added. That, he said, helped facilitate the need to make the move now so as to be prepared when the move to 4A actually happens.
?(We?re looking) just for the bet fit for Lubbock Cooper and what we have going out here,? Windham said. ?The best person will fit into our family we have here at Lubbock Cooper and continue the success we?ve had.?
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Source: http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2013-01-14/cooper-closing-choosing-new-head-football-coach
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