By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
North Pulaski has decided to use a conventional, but accelerated, process to fill its vacant head football-coaching job.
The school will advertise the position and has opened it to applicants while hoping to have a decision made early next week.
“They are applying this week and there will be interviews on Friday and then hopefully by next week we’ll know something,” athletic director Tony Bohannon said Thursday morning.
The North Pulaski job was left open when Rick Russell departed after one season to take over as football coach at crosstown rival Jacksonville. Russell was on the Jacksonville staff for 14 years and left there last year for North Pulaski.
At Jacksonville, Russell is replacing Mark Whatley, who coached five years and is joining the Springdale High School staff as offensive coordinator.
With just over a week before practice begins, the Falcons were under pressure to name a coach quickly.
There was the option of promoting an assistant on an interim basis or taking some other stopgap measure, but Bohannon, who stepped aside as head coach to make way for Russell last year, said the North Pulaski administration decided to conduct a search for a long-term coach now.
“There’s several options you could look at but that’s what the administration decided to do,” Bohannon said.
The Falcons, who play in the 5A-Southeast Conference, were 1-9 under Russell last year with their victory coming in a conference game against Little Rock McClellan, which has since moved up a classification.
North Pulaski has won four games the past six years.
