MARIETTA HIGH SCHOOL'S search for a new head football coach to replace James "Friday" Richards is well into the fourth quarter, and maybe down to the two-minute warning.

AT caught a glimpse of Marietta High principal Leigh Colburn huddling behind closed doors Friday at the Marietta Country Club with two notable Blue Devil boosters, Hap Smith, a Marietta lawyer, and Keith Davidson, chief financial officer for Walton Communities, a Marietta-based development company. Smith is the longtime "Voice of the Blue Devils," and Davidson's son, Chase, now a student at Georgia, played football for the Blue Devils.

AT surmised these three either make up the search committee, or are key members, and were either interviewing a candidate or assessing their search during their closed-door session.

AT asked Colburn how the search was going and she said she plans "to have a recommendation within a week or so." She added that the search has produced "two top-flight candidates" for the job.

The board meets three times in March, and board chairman Randy Weiner told AT that if Colburn has a recommendation, the board likely would take it up at the March 16 meeting.

For sure, Colburn, Athletic Director Paul Hall and others on the committee have conducted an air-tight search. No names have leaked out as for the "two top-flight candidates," but Hall said after Richards resigned last month that he planned to find an experienced, proven winner. Colburn's statement Friday gives the impression the search committee is zeroing in on a coach who fits that criteria.

After the encounter with Colburn, AT learned over the weekend that former Blue Devil Jess Simpson could have had the job for the asking when rumors that Richards was stepping down began floating late last season.

Simpson fit the criteria exceptionally well. He was a second-generation Marietta standout who, like his father, former Blue Devil stalwart Howard Simpson, went on to the play for the Auburn University War Eagles.

Simpson came back and coached one year at Marietta before leaving for Buford High in Gwinnett County with former Blue Devil head coach Dexter Wood.

It is believed Simpson, who now has won three straight state championships as Buford's head coach, showed interest in the job early on, but has taken his name out of the running. He apparently has a comfortable situation at Buford and likely will leave only if a choice major college assistant coaching position is made available to him.

Marietta officials, and booster club members, surely will have to create the best possible "comfortable situation" to get the coach to meet their criteria. High schools have taken the lead from the college game and now shell out big bucks for big-name coaches. It was widely speculated in Alabama that current Colquitt County coach Rush Propst, when all his perks were tallied, was making well over $100,000 when he coached at Hoover High in Birmingham. Neither do winning coaches at high-profile schools make the payments on their Escalades.

It's not likely that Marietta can create a situation that comfortable for the new coach, and another problem may be the rumor that school Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck's attitude sours on sweet deals for coaches - and getting the coach the search committee wants may come down to whether Lembeck will budge on the base pay.

Hall has said he wants the new coach in place by March 1.

If the coach the committee chooses is perceived to be the right man, you can expect a wave of excitement to spread among Blue Devil fans. AT interviewed several longtime Blue Devil supporters two weeks ago and the gist of their comments suggested flagging support for the football program, which has produced thee losing seasons out of the last four. However, all said support could be revived if the search committee finds a coach who can get the Blue Devils back on the winning track. Stay tuned.

OSCAR-WINNING actress Joanne Woodward will mark her 80th birthday Saturday at her New York City penthouse. As for reports circulating here as of late to the effect that she plans to move back to her native Marietta now that husband Paul Newman has passed on, there is nothing to them, according to local relatives.

The actress, who grew up in Marietta and attended Marietta High, continues to maintain her primary residence in Westport, Conn., and is active in theater activities there, being a television and theatrical producer. The actress keeps in touch with MHS classmates and her brother, Wade, and his family, who live in Marietta.

Woodward was born Feb. 27, 1930 in Thomasville, daughter of Elinor Gignilliat and Wade Woodward Jr., who at one point was vice president of publisher Charles Scribner's Sons. Her mother's love of movies influenced her to become an actress. Her mother was named after actress Joan Crawford.

Woodward's family moved to Marietta when she was in the second grade. She then moved to Greenville, S.C., when she was in high school after her parents divorced.

She won her Oscar for her performance in "The Three Faces of Eve." Newman died of cancer two years ago at 83.

The couple was very private. Newman was not known to ever accompany her to Marietta when she came to visit family (her mother died four years ago) and friends.

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THIS AND THAT: The Cobb Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations until April 9 for Cobb Executive Women's prestigious Glass Ceiling award that salutes an individual who has a history of efforts to promote qualified women in his or her profession.

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MDJ EXEC JAY WHORTON relays upbeat news from David Strother, owner of Marietta Toyota, saying of the controversy over problems faced by Toyota: "The Strothers have been in the car business for many years and our customers know we will fill their needs again during the current crisis."

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EVENTS: District 2 East Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott will greet the public on March 6 from 9 a.m. until noon for his monthly Saturday office visit at the Smyrna Library. Call (770) 528-3316 or visit cobbcounty.org/ott.

MARIETTA MAYOR STEVE "THUNDER" TUMLIN gave his first-ever "State of the City" talk on Thursday at the Marietta Kiwanis Club meeting at the Marietta Conference Center. And there was a sharp departure from his predecessor as mayor, Bill Dunaway, who's state of the city speeches invariably were heavy with praise for controversial Tax Allocation Districts and criticism of the Marietta Daily Journal's coverage of his administration. But joked Tumlin just before Thursday's talk, "There's two words you won't hear me say today: 'TADs' and 'MDJ.'" And he was true to his word.

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THE CITY'S POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS had educational displays set up in the lobby of the meeting room, which prompted a bit of joshing between Tumlin and Councilman Philip Goldstein. "Philip, we've got to do a Taser gun demonstration as part of the speech, and wondered if you'd volunteer to take the shock?" the mayor joked.

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TUMLIN CONCLUDED HIS SPEECH without taking questions in order to make it to the funeral of the late Jimmy Colquitt, a pillar of the community who passed away Monday at the grand old age of 91.

Tumlin, who had to make it on time because he was a pallbearer, departed with another quip aimed at Goldstein.

"I'm going to go to the funeral in lieu of asking questions, and since we blame everything on Philip, those of you who have any questions can ask Philip," Tumlin said to laughter.

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FORMER KENNESAW MAYOR LEONARD CHURCH, who's now a candidate for the Cobb Commission District 1 seat held by Helen Goreham, will conduct a fundraiser Saturday at the home of Randal and Gayle Lowe at 1038 Davenport Circle, Powder Springs. The 5:30-8:30 p.m. event will feature heavy hors d'oeuvres, and attendees should call (678) 354-1181.

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CLARIFICATION: Saturday's Around Town noted that Lalaine Briones of the Atlanta-based Prosecuting Attorneys Council had been "hired" as a special prosecutor by Cobb State Court Solicitor Barry Morgan to look into the controversial early-morning Marietta Country Club party Dec. 22 at which 10 teenagers were cited for drinking alcohol at the home of municipal court Judge Diane Busch. In actuality, Briones will continue as an employee of the PAC while pursuing the investigation here, and is not receiving any additional salary from Morgan or his office.