Willie Brown is currently in a foreign place.
Physically, he’s in Pike County, where he’s called home for three years since starting at South Pike as an athletic director and later as head football coach.
Mentally, there are empty spaces.
Nearly a month after South Pike decided to not renew Brown’s football contract, the former coach is still under contract at South Pike as a teacher. His life as a football coach, however, is on hold.
Brown said Thursday afternoon he has checked a handful of jobs out on the internet and is patiently waiting to see if any open up.
The problem? The official start of the football season, where teams start two-a-days, is July 31 — less than a month away.
“It’s late but we just have to wait and see what’s going to happen,” Brown said. “I should know something by next week.”
Brown is optimistic a job will come knocking on his door, but there are no guarantees this late in the game.
Brown made it clear he is looking for a head coaching position and is not interested in an assistant role.
And rightfully so. Brown has 20-plus years of experience under his belt. He coached at Alcorn State in the ‘90s and also led Hazlehurst and Port Gibson before coming to South Pike in 2009. While at Hazlehurst, Brown helped lead the Indians to the 2005 Class 3A State Championship.
If anyone throws a life raft out to Brown, he will likely hold on for the ride despite it being 25 days until the start of the season.
“Well, it all depends on what the job is and what school it is. That’s a good question. It’s a hard thing to talk about. I really want to coach and that’s probably why I would want to take a job,” Brown said. “I don’t know if that would be the smartest thing to do but you know a challenge is a challenge, and I do want to coach. If it fits me and it fits my family, I would probably take the job.”
If not, Brown is inclined to wait until 2013 to get his next opportunity.
Meanwhile, Brown steps aside from a South Pike team that made huge improvements during his tenure. The Eagles were 3-8 in his first season but quickly turned the program around and posted a 8-6 record in 2011 and a berth in the 4A South State semifinals before losing to Quitman.
Even with the coaching change, South Pike, along with Tylertown, is expected to be one of the top teams in 4A South in 2012.
The South Pike School Board on June 21 approved South Pike defensive coordinator Michael Andrews as Brown’s replacement.
