There are two major football coaching vacancies in the West San Gabriel Valley. We’ve talked about the progress and near-conclusion at Temple City.

Next on deck? Pasadena.

It’s been nearly two months since Kevin Mills resigned as coach at Pasadena High School. We let a month pass by to let the head men at Pasadena High figure out what they wanted to do. The update we got at the time from Pasadena High athletic director Tony Brooks who said the school was “sorting through resumes”.

Got to talking to Brooks just a little while ago and not much has changed as you can tell by the same answer I got when Brooks was asked about the hiring progress:

At this point we’re collecting resumes. We have quite an extensive amount of resumes. What we’ll do is we’ll select a committee, which we’re now doing and start the interviewing process. (Pasadena High principal) Dr. (Derick) Evans has been very clear he does not want to rush into a decision and wants the committee to go over everything. He wants what’s best fit for Pasadena High School. Anytime we go through something like this (Evans) is really adamant about making the right decision for the right candidate.

I replied to Brooks and said it sounded like they’re at the same place they were just a few months ago and emphasized he wanted to have a field narrowed by the time they reached January.

We’ve made progress. The thing is there’s a sentiment that we don’t want to rush and that we’re not trying to find the first candidate; we’re trying to find the best candidates. Yes there is a patience that we are exhibiting and that we are trying to be very deliberate about this. We want to cross our “T’s” and dot our “I’s”. We want the best fit but at the risk of sounding redundant a couple of weeks ago, you’re right, we’re in the same position but we’ve made progress in that we’ve accepted a lot of information on a lot of different prospects. the biggest difference is we didn’t have any applications (submitted) at that time but now we have quite a number. And we’re continuing to accept more. We’re going to have a good candidate pool from which to select a coach. We have not made any cuts or any kind of determination at this moment. There’s going to be a committee that will conduct the interviews, it will not just be one or two people. it will be a cross reference of the stake holders on this campus.

Will the coaching position come with a teaching position as well?

It depends on who is the best candidate. If it happens to be a teacher we’ll go that way. That’s always the best case scenario but that will not nullify those who are interested who are not teachers.

You want to take your time making the right decision but at the same time does it not put a strain on you as athletic director giving that spring football is not all that far away?

Absolutely. The thing is that, like i said, Dr. Evans is fully aware of our window that we’re working under and that we’re trying to put somebody in place so that the season is not stymied or hampered in any way. The way things are done kids are probably going to start their weight lifting first or second week of February. As you get closer to spring and the summer you want to start your spring ball and prepare for the summer. We’re fully aware of all the time lines for football. It’s not our intention to be full nonchalant or that we fall asleep on the whole matter. More than being patient or nonchalant, we want to be thorough and complete and that we have the right person for the job. We feel it’s a very important position on our campus. A football coach is probably the more well-known person on campus other than the administrators. He has a big responsibility to not only put forth a good product on the field but also help young kids grow up as good young man and make good progress academically. You don’t want to take this decision lightly and I think Dr. Evans is going about this the right way. He’s been very clear to me that he wants to do this the right way and not rush.

How many have applied?

Probably 10-15 applicants.

Who are the 15 applicants who applied for the coaching vacancy?

You always those good questions and I’m gong to defer. You’ll be the first to know as we narrow this process. I know you’re very interested in this and it’s an important position in this community when you think about all the things that go on in Pasadena. We want to make sure that everything is carried out properly. I’m going to hold off on that answer and tell you you’ll be the first to know about where we stand on this. You won’t have to be searching for me. I’ll call you and let you know.

I’m holding you to it, Tony. =)