TRINITY COACHING VACANCY: Program looks to act quickly on open head coach position
Granger Shook recently announced that he would take the head coaching job at Pike Road High School. Trinity is looking to replace him as soon as possible. (File Photo)
By TIM GAYLE
For only the fourth time in 34 years, Trinity is looking for a head football coach.
A lot of those years were filled by Hall of Fame coach Randy Ragsdale, but the stability of the coaching staff and the low turnover rate make it difficult to find candidates with ties to the school to replace Granger Shook.
Shook accepted the job as head football coach at Pike Road last week, leaving the Wildcats in the rare process of having to search for a new coach.
“Our goal is to do it diligently but with a sense of urgency,” Trinity athletic director Jessica Lassiter said. “Ideally, we make a hire before the end of April. The sooner we can get our next head coach on campus, the better. What (Shook has) done and built will make the transition easy because the things he’s been able to do at Trinity, football runs like a well-oiled machine. I’ve literally heard from every single football staff member (about maintaining the program in Shook’s absence) and some of those are head coaches in other sports right now. That’s the kind of culture and family we’ve built in the athletic department here at Trinity.
“We will develop a hiring committee and start that process as soon as possible.”
Ironically, when Ragsdale was hired in 1989, it marked the last time three of the five Capital City Conference schools were replacing head football coaches at the same time. Now, with Neal Posey replacing the retiring Jimmy Perry at St. James and with Trinity and Montgomery Academy looking for new head coaches, the conference is facing its greatest upheaval in 34 years.
At Trinity, the list of candidates will include plenty of impressive resumes and that could include offensive coordinator Greg Parker and defensive coordinator Tommy Shoemaker, the newest addition to the coaching staff.
“We’re super excited about Tommy and the wisdom and experience he’s going to bring to Trinity and to Trinity football,” Lassiter said. “He’s got a wealth of experience that me, as an athletic director, are looking forward to leaning on.”
Shook didn’t offer any potential candidates but predicted the vacancy would generate plenty of interest.
“I think there are some extremely good men who are qualified in the area (and) in the state that are going to apply for this job,” Shook said. “Trinity has been on the brink of making deep (playoff) runs and I think they understand that there are some really good players, good coaches and good administrators here. I believe there are going to be a lot of really qualified men to apply and seek out this job.”
Had the coaching staff and the team remained intact from last year, the Wildcats would have been considered one of the favorites to contend for a state championship. Shook guided Trinity to the state playoffs in all three seasons as a head coach, reaching the quarterfinals in 2020 and the second round in each of the past two years.
“I think you see we were able to be very competitive very quickly,” Shook said. “We were ranked in our classification in the top 10, competed for region titles every year, hosted the first round every year. And there are good players coming. Our middle school program is very good, our JV program went undefeated. It is definitely a good job.
“Coach Jess does a phenomenal job as the athletic director and there will continue to be high expectations here. I think Trinity has a bright future. Whoever is blessed enough to get this job will have a lot of pieces to work with.”
Lassiter, meanwhile, said the search committee will keep an open mind when looking for Shook’s successor.
“Our options are open,” she said. “We want to be respectful to our current staff members and give them the opportunity to have conversations but the job will be posted and open to the public. We want to talk to the best candidates.”