By Maddox Weddle
The search for a new football head coach is under way and the athletic director is looking for the person who is just the right fit for the spot.
During this past season, Chris Overholt resigned from his position as head football coach to become an assistant principal. He finished out his ninth season with the Eagles before transitioning to his new job in the office.
That means the team needs a new head coach and the hiring process goes straight through athletic director Tilmon Clark.
He has been getting applications for the spot since they posted it on Monday, Nov. 3. Clark just wants to make sure he has the right guy for his players.
”Anytime you bring in a new head coach, the first thing you want to do is make sure you bring in a good person to take care of our student-athletes,” Clark said. “They need to be able to connect with our student athletes and just really build a program that the Delta community can be proud of.”
Clark wants to work swiftly, but also do his due diligence.
“It’s hard to put a timetable on it,” he said. “I know some will be chomping at the bit to get a new coach in place.”
At this point he has gotten a few candidates and is in the stage of gathering applications.
Clark has not begun doing any interviews and is not sure when his first one will be. It will just depend on when he and Principal Joey Gossett examine the applications thoroughly.
For now Clark does not know when the new coach will be hired.
“If you get the right applicants in and you’re able to start the interview process, then things can move pretty quickly,” Clark said. “If you’re still looking for the right applicant or you’re still reaching out, asking people’s interest, then it could move a little bit slower.”
The last thing Clark wants to do is move too fast with an important position like this.
He wants a coach who can have a similar impact that Coach Overholt had.
“(Coach Overholt) has been awesome. Obviously people look at wins and losses and championships. You know, that’s why you play sports, you play to win the game,” Clark said. “His overall development of student-athletes, development of a program, while still winning and still winning championships, is very, very impressive. So he has a lot to be proud of.”
Overholt finished with a 56-44 varsity record in exactly 100 games that he coached at Delta over the past nine years. His teams won sectional championships in 2016 and 2023.
