Editor's Note: This story has been updated on June 3 at 1:25 p.m. with comments from Jennifer Slover and Kim Vineyard.
The girls’ basketball head coaching job is open again at Sweetwater.
The school announced the opening on its Facebook page Thursday before confirming Jennifer Slover’s resignation with The Advocate & Democrat later in the day.
In a second interview, Sweetwater AD Caleb Norwood claimed to find out about the resignation May 8 in an email dated April 25.
Sweetwater principal Kim Vineyard confirmed the official resignation came in via email on May 8 with an effective date of May 21.
Vineyard confirmed that Slover had informed her of an intention to resign prior to sending the email.
Slover refuted Norwood's claim, saying she sent the resignation email on April 15.
Per Norwood, Slover’s resignation came as a shock to him, as he was planning to move forward with her second season this summer.
“There was no plan for a resignation from our side. I had hoped Coach Slover would be there for several years to come,” Norwood said. “I have a meeting at the end of the year with every coach. The way that that conversation went with her, she had planned on staying and being there, but things changed, apparently, on her end.
“I had heard of her resignation, I was never given her resignation.”
Slover refuted this claim in an interview on May 31.
“Caleb Norwood has lied. I resigned effective April 15 and I was going to finish the school year,” Slover said. “I told Kim Vineyard that day that I was resigning from basketball coach and P.E. teacher at the end of the school year. She was notified and (Norwood) was notified.
“For him to say he thought I would be there for years is absurd. For him to think that the actions that him and Kim Vineyard did to my family and that I would stay there is ludicrous.”
Slover is the wife of Caleb Slover who resigned as Sweetwater’s football coach on Sept. 26.
Jennifer Slover’s resignation is the fourth time the position has become open in the past two years. Heather Jaramillo announced her resignation in April 2022 before two resignations and a termination followed the next three coaches.
“Stability is everything with this program right now. If you look at the journey that this program has been on for the last few years — all the way back to Jaramillo resigning and having a few different coaches in place,” Norwood said. “We need someone who can be the coach at Sweetwater High School for five to 10 to 15 years and someone who can pour into those girls.”
Jonathan Dacus resigned less than three months into his tenure with the Lady Wildcats. Then-athletic director Jeremy Henderson served as the head coach for one season before his termination last summer.
Sweetwater has won approximately 20 games in the past three seasons, winning only five in Slover’s lone season.
The Lady Wildcats hold a 4-26 record over their last three District 3-2A campaigns with quarterfinal exits each season.
“It has to be someone that is going to build relationships with those girls and go win ball games with them. That is why we do this, that is why we have competitive sports,” Norwood said.
With summer camps starting as early as the following week, Robin Bowden will serve as interim head coach while Emily Allen will assist.
“Obviously, we want to move fast because sports are year-round now. I don’t know if you are behind more than another. Any time you don’t have a coach in place there is a time where your girls are not getting to work,” Norwood said. “We are going to try to move fast and get something done here quickly. The season will be here before we know it.”
Bowden is an assistant coach for the boys’ program and was an assistant on the Sweetwater Junior High School team that finished as TMSAA Class AA Runner-Up in 2023.
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