Pulaski County’s Stephen James steps down
- Thread starter eastspartan
- Start date
Now the “know-it-all” coaches in the county will have their chance to take over. You know, the ones in the stands that question everything the coach does.
My first five phone calls would be:
1. Stephen Magenbauer (You'd be crazy not to ask)
2. Jeff Woody
3. Mark Dixon
4. Burt Torrence
5. Kevin Clifford
There's 11 state championships between them, all with at least one as a head coach.
1. Stephen Magenbauer (You'd be crazy not to ask)
2. Jeff Woody
3. Mark Dixon
4. Burt Torrence
5. Kevin Clifford
There's 11 state championships between them, all with at least one as a head coach.
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My guess is Pulaski alum and current head c
My guess is Pulaski alum and current head coach at Auburn, Cam Akers will certainly apply. He's been admirably successful at Auburn
That could certainly be a possibility. I will just note the resumes of the guys I listed earlier:
Mags = 169-27 (86%), 5 titles
Jeff Woody (Brookville/Monticello/EC Glass) = 137-50 (73%), 2 titles
Mark Dixon (Galax) = 88-30 (75%), 1 title
Burt Torrence (Northside) = 81-40 (67%), 2 titles
Kevin Clifford (Glenvar) = 102-49 (68%), 1 title
I don't know if any of those guys would be interested other than Clifford. I think all his kids have Graduated from Glenvar. And I think he did apply for the Fleming job a year or two back. I don't think Dixon wants to coach at the high school level much longer. I think he wants to get into college coaching.
Bradley is a good suggestion but I don’t think he would consider Pulaski Co. He has a great pool of talent where he is and he saw how his friend, Todd Jones, was treated when he was the coach at Pulaski.
Pulaski County High School head football coach Stephen James has resigned.
According to School Board Chairman Timmy Hurst, James announced his intentions during a meeting with School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Siers Thursday afternoon.
According to Hurst, James said he is leaving Pulaski County to take a teaching position at George Wythe High School. James is a graduate of GWHS and attended Emory & Henry.
He also expressed desire to spend more time with his family. James’ wife is Assistant Superintendent of Wythe County Schools.
James came to Pulaski County in 2014 following a successful stint at Fort Chiswell High School. His final year coaching the Pioneers he led the team to the state semi-finals.
At Pulaski County, James finished with a 43-20 record. His final season, the Cougars went 9-3, losing in the second week of the VHSL Playoffs in Lynchburg to E.C. Glass, 27-10. It was the second straight season the Cougars had reached the 12-game mark of the season.
According to School Board Chairman Timmy Hurst, James announced his intentions during a meeting with School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Siers Thursday afternoon.
According to Hurst, James said he is leaving Pulaski County to take a teaching position at George Wythe High School. James is a graduate of GWHS and attended Emory & Henry.
He also expressed desire to spend more time with his family. James’ wife is Assistant Superintendent of Wythe County Schools.
James came to Pulaski County in 2014 following a successful stint at Fort Chiswell High School. His final year coaching the Pioneers he led the team to the state semi-finals.
At Pulaski County, James finished with a 43-20 record. His final season, the Cougars went 9-3, losing in the second week of the VHSL Playoffs in Lynchburg to E.C. Glass, 27-10. It was the second straight season the Cougars had reached the 12-game mark of the season.
I think Jeff Woody would be a long shot because he is a Lynchburg native, and has just now gotten the Glass program turned around over the past two years (22-4). There's no denying that he can flat out coach and is one of the best in the state if he is interested.
I would have to think that Dixon, Torrence, and Clifford would have to be at least interested on the surface for various reasons.Responding to your thought that Dixon wants to go to the college level, if you remember, he was quoted in the Galax Gazette upon his return as saying:
"when he visited three college programs, was there all day long and saw every aspect of it, that it wasn't really what he wanted to do. I believe I'm in the right place in terms of the age group that I work with, and that I enjoy what I'm doing" https://www.galaxgazette.com/content/dixon-remain-galax
I would agree here just for the fact that he's built that program into his own mold, has been extremely successful, and at this point, may be a lateral move by his standards.
I tell you, another name in the greater Lynchburg area is Doug Smith at Appomattox County. He has built an absolute juggernaut, winning 4 titles in the last 5 years. I have no idea what his level of interest would be.
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Magenbauer at Pulaski would be cool to see. I wonder why he retired.
Torrence is not leaving Lynchburg. He looks like he loves being at Heritage. I'd like to see him take over another Lynchburg area school when it opens up. He and Bradley work well together.
Bradley is not leaving Heritage, he's created a dynasty there.
Woody wants his next move to be a college move, I'm sure he would consider a move up in the high school ranks though. Pulaski is not a move up. Things are looking pretty good at Glass right now.
Dixon - Why not? Seems like a good move. Question is can he make Pulaski as successful as Galax is?
Clifford- If he applied for Fleming, Why not Pulaski?
Torrence is not leaving Lynchburg. He looks like he loves being at Heritage. I'd like to see him take over another Lynchburg area school when it opens up. He and Bradley work well together.
Bradley is not leaving Heritage, he's created a dynasty there.
Woody wants his next move to be a college move, I'm sure he would consider a move up in the high school ranks though. Pulaski is not a move up. Things are looking pretty good at Glass right now.
Dixon - Why not? Seems like a good move. Question is can he make Pulaski as successful as Galax is?
Clifford- If he applied for Fleming, Why not Pulaski?
Doug Smith has made a big impact at Appomattox, and the community loves him. He's also getting older, and I doubt he makes another move.
That is an interesting perspective on Burt Torrence, I figured he would be itching to be a head coach again at a solid program, and one he is familiar with, having played Pulaski multiple times over the years.
I think Dixon, Torrence, and Clifford are the most realistic options.
I think Dixon, Torrence, and Clifford are the most realistic options.
Torrence would definitely look good a Pulaski, and I think he'd be a good fit. I want to see him still in Lynchburg.
Another 2A coach to keep in mind could be Travis Turner at Union. He's 86-26 there.
I think Mags retired to spend time with his family. His oldest daughter graduated a couple of years ago and is playing soccer for Richmond. His youngest daughter is a Jr I think. I see him walking with his wife in the evenings. He has done everything a HS Coach could ever dream of. IMO I don't think he would take another HS coaching job. He might come out of retirement for a college job in the future. (He still has that itch, he's at all the home games watching from the skybox next to me) He is a loyal guy. I could never see him coaching for Salem's biggest rivals.
Mike, I agree in entirety. I think there's next to zero chance he would even consider it. But as an AD, how could you not pick up the phone and call arguably the second best HS coach ever in Virginia (Behind Mike Smith), who is still relatively young?
Hard to say without knowing who has that aspiration. Rob Colley, the DC, is the son of legendary Haysi head coach James Colley.
IF and a big IF Magenbauer were to ever get the urge to scratch that coaching itch again I believe it would have to be in college. The only way I see high school as a landing spot would be to help a friend or should Salem ever get caught between a rock and a hard place. Tough to settle for the valley when you have sat on the mountain top. Plenty of potential candidates for PCHS but, all worth their salt will fully investigate the principal, school board/system and the community before throwing their hat in the ring. At least that is the way I see it. Hope you are well Mike! Be safe.
If you were Justin Fuente or Bronco Mendenhall, I think it would make a lot of sense to see if Mags would be interested in an analyst/recruiting role. Talk about having credibility when you walk in a HS locker room and being able to pick up the phone and call anybody, wouldn't be many better.
I grew up in the NRV. Have lived and worked in Pulaski County from time to time. I don't mean to sound too mean, but I don't see this job opening drawing the same interest in big name, established head coaches, it may have gotten 20 years ago. Wish em the best, but I don't know if they should over expect.
I think the program is still in a position to hire some of the top head coaches in 1A-3A. Sure Jeff Woody is a pipe dream; but do you not think that Dixon, Torrence, and Clifford would see this as a step up from where they are at currently?
Thinking about Burt Torrence who is now in an assistant role, rightly or wrongly, there may be some schools that shy away from him due to how his tenure at Northside ended. He may not necessarily have his pick of head coaching jobs. He can flat out coach, there's no doubt about that.
How bout this for a conspiracy theory. James let the officials know a few weeks back his decision to leave. They asked him to keep a lid on it for a while. Having inside info that Jack Turner was likely to be named new head coach at Chatham. Once that was announced, James was free to make his announcement. PC now wouldn't have to deal with the Turner crowd, still a force in the county, lobbying to rehire Turner. Too far out there, or something to think about?
Does PC have an athletics slush fund? I hear that's a big box that Torrence likes to check off before he takes a job.
When coaches start bolting like this it screams admin
This is probably the most accurate and realistic synopsis.
Dixon and Clifford would both be great choices and I do not think they would not be against making a move.
