What's the latest on the KHS football job?

After Kirk Welch resigned as Kennett's head football coach last month, the schoolboard voted not to accept the resignation. So what does this all mean?

First of all, I don't believe Welch will be returning. I'm not 100 percent sure how it will all play out, but I am 100 percent sure we will have a new football coach at Kennett next fall.

The question now is who will he be, and what will he need to do to turn the Indians into consistent winners?

As for the second part of the question, I think the next coach needs to instill a commitment to the weight room in the program. Kennett always seems to have athletes to compete, but a lack of commitment to the weight room in the offseason has offset that edge and led to more losing seasons than winners over the last two decades.

What can hitting the offseason weights do for a team? Just take a look at the Dexter Bearcats under head coach Aaron Pixley.

When Pixley took the reins of the program in 2000, the Bearcats were a .500 at best program that had not won a district title since 1992. But thanks in part to a serious offseason weightlifting program, Dexter now has one of the area's most consistent programs, winning two district titles, competing for several more and producing two Carr Trophy winners.

Dexter has also dominated the Tribe on Pixley's watch, going 9-0 against Kennett.

I believe Kennett could compete for the district title almost every year if its athletes, and especially its linemen, would become stronger in the offseason. The Tribe could match up with the New Madrids and the Dexters, and often come out ahead in the end.

Now, back to the first part of the question, who will the next coach be? That's very up in the air, especially since the job is not officially open.

What is certain is that the next coach will inherit a team that graduated 15 seniors from this year, but also has good young talent coming up. The pieces are there to make a full turnaround. Hopefully that will entice a good coach to come in and take the reins.

We can hope for the best...