Rhea Co. head football coach search ongoing

EVENSVILLE — The process for finding a new football coach at Rhea County High School is ongoing.

Rhea County Co-Athletic Director Micah Ruehling said interviews have taken place and more may be scheduled, though that has not yet been decided. He said he has received approximately 50 resumes.

A committee will go through the resumes and ultimately decide who leads the Eagles’ football program. Ruehling hopes to have a coach in place well before the start of spring practice. He declined to get into the details about the committee that is conducting the coaching search, but said “we are thorough, that’s for sure.”

Ruehling was asked what they are looking for in a coach.

“They have got to love our kids,” Ruehling said. “They’ve got to create a good culture that emphasizes not only football, but how you can take what you learn in games and apply that to life. We want a community guy, someone who will be involved in our community. They have to be involved with our kids, come to our soccer matches or basketball games and be part of our community.”

Ruehling said the new coach will be free to run whatever offensive or defensive system they think is best.

“Whoever the coach is will have their own offensive and defensive system,” Ruehling said. “It’s important to us, but it won’t hinge on whether we hire them or not. They will have their own system and we will support whatever it looks like.”

Former coach Mark Pemberton led {span}Rhea since 2013 and was also the offensive coordinator for two years before leaving for Campbell County a couple of weeks ago. He had an {span}87-45 overall record at Rhea. The Eagles went went 5-6 this past year and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Lenoir City. {/span}{/span}