AT has learned that all interviews have been completed and the search committee has three finalists - all who match the "proven, experienced winner" criteria established by athletic director Paul Hall.
Hall remains tight-lipped about names, but he did tell MDJ sports editor John Bednarowski on Thursday that he thinks the new coach will be introduced "by the middle of next week."
AT has learned the three finalists are likely:
* Andy Dorsey, head coach at Hiram the past four years who led the Hornets to an 11-1 record last season and the Region 7AAAA championship. He is the son of McEachern athletic director Jimmy Dorsey, the successful former Indians head coach for 20 years.
* John Reid, who has turned around a once-struggling East Paulding program. The Raiders were only 5-5 last season, but they won 33 games and lost only six the previous three seasons to give Reid a 38-11 record at a school that was 76-120-1 in its first 19 years.
* Phil Ironside, Hillgrove's only coach in its eight-year history. Ironside ignited an instant liftoff with the Hawks when they went 7-4 and made the Class AAAAA playoffs in just their second season. The Hawks were 7-3 and missed the playoffs last season, but they were 8-4 and made it to the second round of the playoffs in '08.
While it's likely the new coach will be chosen from among these three, AT has learned there is a wild card name floating around - Richmond University wide receivers coach Scott Burton, a Richmond alumnus who played defensive back for the Spiders.
Burton was a highly successful prep coach at Virginia's Highland Springs High School in suburban Richmond, where he was 72-26 in nine seasons and had an undefeated team in '07. His Marietta connection is a mystery, but he did get a masters degree from Georgia in the late '90s and may have made an inroad during that time - or, he simply may have learned of the opening and Marietta's tradition and applied. A job like the one Marietta's offering has to be viewed as equal to, if not better, than a staff job at Richmond, which is well below the penthouse assistant positions at the Georgias and Alabamas, et al.
Dorsey was an All-Cobb County player for his father at McEachern and was a four-year starter and two-time all-conference selection at Tennessee Tech as the team's punter. He was a graduate assistant at Tech and was an assistant coach at West Georgia.
Dorsey is a respected, relatively young coach and his knowledge of the Cobb landscape has to be a plus. He and his wife Christi have two young children.
Reid has been coaching in high school for 23 years and is 81-21 in 12 years as a head coach. He established a huge reputation in prep circles at Alcoa, Tenn., High School where he won two state championships, lost in the state title game once and had two semi-final teams. He led East Paulding to a 12-2 record and the state semifinals in '08.
His instant, winning makeover of East Paulding surely caught the eye of the search committee, which is keenly aware that the Blue Devils need rebuilding.
An interesting footnote on Reid is that he has a lot in common with James "Friday" Richards, who stepped down as Marietta's head coach just over a month ago. Richards - who starred at Marietta and played at Florida and briefly in the NFL - endeared himself to the Marietta community for many reasons, but among the most admirable was his acceptance of players who came from unsettled family backgrounds. He and his wife, Dorothy, welcomed more than a dozen such players into their home through the years and treated each as if he were their own son.
Reid also has a history of housing players in need, and one, linebacker Dustin Lindsey, was featured in the Knoxville newspaper in 2005. Lindsey admitted being rebellious and that he needed tough love. He got it from Reid, along with TLC, and he also settled down under his coach's nurturing and got a scholarship to Tennessee.
Reid and his wife, Julie, have been married 22 years and have three children.
Taking over a new school and building a 23-12 record and a playoff appearance in four seasons speaks volumes for Ironside. An all-conference quarterback at Middle Tennessee State, Ironside has spent the past 18 years as a prep coach, the last eight as a head coach in Cobb County, including four at Campbell before taking the Hillgrove job.
His record, especially at Hillgrove, and his knowledge of Cobb football are certainly big pluses for him.
Ironside and his wife, Latashia, have two children.
ASKED THIS WEEK IF HE’S PUT UP any yard signs touting a run for state Senate, former Cobb school board Chairman Lindsey Tippins chuckled and answered, “Not yet.”
The question followed a week of further fallout and criticism of state Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw), who was named in the police report regarding a teen drinking party at the Marietta Country Club. AT reported last week that Tippins is considering a run against Wiles.
Around Town has also learned that if Tippins runs, he would announce his candidacy before the end of this year’s legislative session. That would give him a leg up on Wiles, since legislators are prohibited from accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists while the Legislature is in session.
Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) has said it’s unlikely the session will end before mid-April.
The early morning party in question took place in the home of local municipal court Judge Diane Bush, an attorney with Wiles’ Marietta law firm. The police report from the incident states that Wiles attempted to deter police from citing one of the party guests for underage drinking because it might cost the student his baseball scholarship to Rice University.
Wiles, who was not there while the teen drinking was taking place, adamantly has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the case and said the police report is incorrect.
THURSDAY’S MARIETTA KIWANIS CLUB meeting saw a local lawyer share this tidbit, regarding the ongoing stories about the teen drinking party at the home of Judge Busch. “As they used to tell us in law school, if you’re in trouble, hire a lawyer who knows the law. And even better, hire a lawyer that knows the judge!”
ALTHOUGH COBB STATE COURT Judge Nancy Campbell has been getting all the courthouse ink this week, due to her connection with the teen drinking story, word is — contrary to widespread speculation — longtime Cobb Superior Court Judge George Kreeger plans to seek another term this year. Meanwhile, word is that Kreeger’s veteran administrative assistant, Babe Atkins-Byrne, is considering taking early retirement in the next few months or waiting till the end of the year to retire.
Two other Cobb Superior Court judges, James Bodiford and Robert Flournoy III, whose terms also expire at year end, are expected to seek new terms in the non-partisan judicial races this fall.
Meanwhile, if Kreeger should change his mind and decide not to run, look for Cobb Juvenile Court Judge Greg Poole to seek that seat on the bench.
Kreeger has a quarter century of service on the Superior Court bench. He was first sworn in 1984, making him second in longevity only to Judge Dorothy Robinson, who took office in 1981.
If you called Central Casting and asked for someone with a straight-arrow, judge-like demeanor, they’d probably send you a George Kreeger. Although the Kreegers live at the Marietta Country Club, one thing’s for sure: They’re not part of the party crowd there that’s made news in the past few weeks.
COBB SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DR. JOHN CROOKS says he has received “80 or 90” e-mails critical of Cobb Superior Court Judge Watson White’s decision this week to grant an injunction in a case brought by frequent MDJ guest columnist Pete Borden that seeks to prevent the school system from spending SPLOST funds to install artificial turf on high school football fields. Crooks, whose district includes high-performing Walton High School in east Cobb, tells AT that the gist of the e-mails he’s received is that “Walton folks just want turf, technology and to be left alone.”
EVENTS: Expect health care reform to dominate discussion this morning as U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta), an obstetrician, speaks at the Madison Forum breakfast at the Rib Ranch restaurant on Canton Road. Breakfast is at 8 a.m. and Gingrey will speak at 9.
IF YOU PLAY AN ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENT, you might be interested in the new Marietta Community Orchestra. The group already has 18 members, rehearsal space and music stands. Its repertoire will be a mixture of classical and pops. If interested, contact Dr. Paul Hill at MariettaOrchestra@comcast.net.
THE TOMMY NOBIS CENTER held an electronics recycling event at Thursday’s Marietta Kiwanis Club meeting that collected more than two tons of old TVs, computers, cell phones and other electronic items. Member Bill Enete joked, “My wife Norma wants me to donate my pacemaker. But I’m not finished using it yet!”
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