A flurry of coaching hires were made Thursday at the Siloam Springs School Board meeting, including four football coaches who will join the Panthers' coaching staff.
Siloam Springs has hired former Green Forest assistant coach Tony Coffee as its co-defensive coordinator, while Cole Harriman, Robert Staggs and former Siloam Springs football player Ehldane Labitad have all been added to the staff, head coach Bryan Ross said.
Coffee was actually hired as a high school science teacher and it worked out that a football position opened up, Ross said.
Coffee and longtime Siloam Springs assistant coach Dwain Pippin will team up to coordinate the Panthers' defense. Pippin, who has coached on the offensive side of the ball the last several years, will move back to coach the defensive line, while Coffee will coach linebackers.
"(Coffee) will be making the calls on Friday night with input from Coach Pip," Ross said. "I think those two will work well together."
Coffee is also slated to be the assistant baseball coach in the spring, with former baseball assistant Craig Cowart moving over to join the track and field staff. Coffee was the head baseball coach at Green Forest for several years.
Harriman is the son of former Siloam Springs head coach Ken Harriman. He's coached at several different schools, including Sheridan and Perryville and last year he was working at J.O. Kelly in Springdale with the seventh-grade football program.
Harriman will coach the secondary for the varsity and serve as the eighth-grade head coach. He'll teach social studies.
"I think he's going to be a real asset for us," Ross said of Harriman.
Staggs has been volunteering in the Rogers School District the last few years and has also helped at Fayetteville Woodland in the past. He received endorsements from former Siloam Springs standout and current Elkins head coach Chad Harbison along with former Siloam Springs High School principal Charlie Abernathy, Ross said.
"They said he'll be a really good hire," Ross said of Staggs, who will coach running backs and tight ends for varsity and assist with the eighth-grade while teaching physical education at the middle school.
Labitad graduated from Siloam Springs in the spring of 2006. The former Panther offensive lineman was a junior in Billy Dawson's one year as head coach in 2004, which was Ross' first year in Siloam Springs. Labitad played under Clint Ashcraft his senior year.
He is scheduled to join the Panthers' ninth-grade staff and volunteer with the varsity, Ross said. He'll be an assistant soccer coach in the spring and teach middle school physical education.
"(Labitad) was a pretty good offensive tackle," Ross recalled. "He's a really neat guy and he's excited. He really wanted to be back home."
Ross said Marc Jones, who was defensive coordinator the last three seasons, is still in a rehab facility in Benton after suffering a stroke back in March. It is unknown whether he will be able to return to the team for the 2017 season.
"Hopefully he can get out pretty soon," Ross said. "I know he said it's like being in a prison. We're just going to see what he can do and how much. We hope we can get back."
Assistant coach Jeff Bowerman took a job at Fayetteville, while ninth-grade assistant Luke Shoemaker was hired at Greenwood as the head boys soccer coach. Assistant football coach and assistant softball coach Houston Pruitt is not returning to the district.
In other district coaching moves, Leigha Norden was hired as eighth-grade volleyball coach. With the promotion of Joellen Wright to head coach, Kailey Greenleaf assumed Wright's previous role as varsity assistant and head seventh-grade volleyball coach.
Jessie Merrill moves to head ninth-grade coach in place of Greenleaf.
Norden will also be the assistant seventh-grade coach under head coach Janet Moore, who fills the spot that Wright had. Norden also will be assistant softball coach in the spring.
Sports on 06/18/2017