ROCKINGHAM — Now that the holidays are over and school is back in session, the search for Richmond Senior’s next head football coach can move forward without any interruptions.
On Dec. 19, former coach Mike Castellano, along with Richmond County Schools, confirmed that he had turned in his resignation after guiding the Raider football team to a 20-7 record in his two seasons.
The next day, school officials and central office personnel held a meeting in order to discuss how things would be handled in the search for the 11th head football coach in school history. The job was also posted on the Richmond County Schools’ website that day.
“We’re going to hold the application process open for right now,” athletic director Ricky Young said before Christmas break. “When we come back from Christmas we’re going to look and see what we’ve got. Then we’ll probably set a deadline on when we’re going to stop taking applications.”
Although students are back in the classroom, school officials have yet to set a deadline for when applications will stop being received. The names of the applicants or the number of applications could not be specified, but Young says the school has received some “qualified” resumes.
“We feel like it’s an attractive job. We’ve received several qualified applicants and we’re in the process of going through those applications,” he said.
When Paul Hoggard resigned back in March of 2015, Richmond was in a scramble to find it’s next head coach. An emergency meeting was called on May 20, 2015 and that’s when Castellano was officially hired — right around the time spring practice usually begins.
This time around, school officials have more than two months until spring ball kicks off. However, they’re hoping things can be settled well before the team takes the practice field.
“It’s an ongoing process. We don’t really have a deadline on it, but we hope that we can complete the process as soon as possible,” Young added. “We want to get the next coach in place as quickly as possible, so he can go ahead and get familiar with the kids and be ready to implement his spring practice when that time comes.”
After running the option under Hoggard, Richmond’s football team had to quickly adjust to Castellano and the spread offense that he preferred to run. No one is sure if another offensive scheme change is in the team’s future, but Raider fans can look to guys like Dante Miller (running back), Bobby Terry (wide receiver) and Jake Ransom (center) to produce when Richmond has the ball.
All three players, who will be returning next season, were named to the All-Southeastern Conference team for their performances this past season. Miller will be a senior and will more than likely carry the load out of the backfield. Terry and Ransom, both rising juniors, had an immediate impact during their first year on the varisty squad.
“We’re committed to the program and the players,” Young explained last month. “We just want to make sure that everybody knows that we’re going to move on this as quickly as possible. But at the same time, we’re going to try to assure that we get the right person for the job.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
Richmond County school officials are still in the process of finding the next head coach of the Richmond Senior football team. The job opening was posted on the RCS website Tuesday, Dec. 20 — the day after former coach Mike Castellano sent in his letter of resignation.