MANSFIELD — The latest fallout from the Mansfield City Schools financial crisis has trickled down to the athletic side.
On Tuesday night, Mansfield Senior Athletic Director Jack Soliday provided an update on the search for the next head football coach. Due to the latest budget cuts, it may be a while before there is a hire.
“It has been at the advice of the lawyers for the school board that we cannot hire anyone at this time until the all of the RIF (Reduction in Force) positions are completed and filled,” Soliday said. “So, we cannot hire anyone to fill our head football coaching position at this time.”
The plan is for the varsity football coaching position to be reposted on March 31, by which time the RIF positions will be figured out. There will be another round of interviews and then a hire is to be made by the second week of April. Until then, assistant coaches will continue with weight training so when a hire is made, it can be a seamless transition.
“We are happy to have two of the assistant coaches who continue to run our weight room program in Coach (Antonio) Fletcher and Coach (Chioke) Bradley Jr.,” Soliday said.
Chioke Bradley Sr. stepped down as head football coach on Dec. 9 as the winningest coach in program history. The position was posted and interviews were conducted last week with seven candidates with the idea of making a hire this week.
After the Feb. 24 special school board meeting where school board members during a special meeting voted to eliminate nearly 40 teaching positions and more than a dozen administrative jobs, which will take effect over the summer, it was advised that the football coaching search be put on hold.
“We had seven candidates, four internal and three external, and they are some good ones,” Soliday said. “We narrowed it down but, unfortunately, we cannot follow through on any employment at this time. We will be starting from scratch, but we would love to have those who applied to reapply.”
The money for a coaching salary is a sliver of the overall expenses of a school, but with Mansfield City School’s situation, every penny counts.
“It comes from the board of education as a supplemental income,” Soliday said. “It is 22% of the base salary of a first-year teacher. That is for head coaches in football and boys and girls basketball.”
The Tygers can begin spring practice on May 15 with the summer period ending on July 31 and the first day of official practice beginning Aug. 1.
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This content is reposted from the source: https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/02/26/mansfield-senior-football-continues-to-search-for-head-football-coach/80382278007/
