ROCKINGHAM — The search is over.
Bryan Till was named head coach of the Richmond Senior football team at a special Board of Education meeting held Monday morning. The announcement ends Richmond’s search for its 11th head football coach in school history — more than a month after Mike Castellano stepped down from the position.
“I think this is the best job in North Carolina,” Till said. “For me to get this job, I feel like God has blessed me tremendously. I’m ready to get started.”
Till comes to Richmond after spending four seasons at Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, where he compiled a 34-18 record and won back-to-back conference championships in 2014 and 2015. Terry Sanford’s best season under Till came in 2015 when it went 12-2, finished undefeated in conference play and earned a No. 1 overall seed in the NCHSAA 3AA State Playoffs.
With Monday being a teacher workday at Terry Sanford, Till was unable to break the news to the players like he would’ve wanted. Although most of the school’s football players already know, and have been wishing him luck, a meeting will be held Tuesday afternoon.
“Not having the relationships with the kids anymore and not being able to continue to foster them will be tough,” he explained. “But I’m ready to build new relationships at Richmond, get tight with kids and help them.”
Getting to this point — the hiring of Till — was a process that had been extremely private. Aside from some community outrage about the job’s requirement to have experience as a head coach, not much noise was made before the announcement Monday morning. School officials released very little information on the search after the job was posted on the Richmond County Schools’ website, but did say they received some qualified resumes earlier this month.
Now Raider football fans know Till was one of the applicants.
“We went through a thorough process and we think Coach Till is the total package,” athletic director Ricky Young explained. “He has strong football and strength training knowledge and will be a positive role model in the lives of our young men.”
Although he’s not sure when he’ll get settled into Richmond County, Till plans to hit the ground running when that day comes. Getting on the same page with the current coaching staff is an important part of the transition for Till, as he believes a football program cannot move forward without its coaches working together.
“When you have people that care so much about Richmond, those guys are going to have a vision for wanting the program to be the best it can be,” he said.
Another important piece to the puzzle, Till says, is meeting with the players and going over their transcripts. Growing up with parents who have a strong educational background has played a huge role in Till’s approach to coaching.
“High school is supposed to be about preparing you for other things in the future. I want the program to mirror that,” Till said. “Education was always important in my family. I was blessed to have that and I want to be there to help them.”
With that being said, Till is well aware of Richmond’s football history. The 38-year-old coach understands that everyone wants the team to play at a high level and says he’s ready to build on the program’s tradition.
As far as the team’s offensive and defensive schemes, Till says he’s going to evaluate the players, talk to the coaches and build the system around the kids.
“I do like to be spread out and move the ball down the field. We’ll probably going to be shotgun-based but we’ll do a little bit of everything,” he added. “Don’t be surprised when you come and see a Raider football game this fall.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
Bryan Till was named head coach of the Richmond Senior football team early Monday morning. Till, 38, spent the past four seasons at Fayetteville Terry Sanford, where he compiled a 34-18 record and won two conference championships.