Coaching vacanices continue to rise

California had its Gold Rush. Augusta looks as if it will have a coaching rush in 2006.

The number of confirmed vacant head football coaching jobs increased to five Thursday, when Richmond Academy coach Jamie Echols informed his team he was stepping down after four seasons.

"It was the right time," Echols said. "I'm going to miss the kids, but this just made the most sense for me and my family."

The 2005 season was a trying one for Echols. On the field, personality clashes and the removal of some of the most talented players from the team resulted in a 2-8 record.

Off it, Echols found trouble finding time to be athletic director, athletic business manager, graduate school student and father of three girls.

"I just had a lot of overload," Echols said. "By the middle of the year, I knew I was done. We'll move up in classification and play in a new region this fall. I just felt this was the right time for a change."

Echols, 35, went 10-29 with the Musketeers.

"It wasn't a lack of success," he said. "Folks might not believe me but I'd even be stepping aside if we just went 15-0."

Junior quarterback Jacob Sullivan stared into the sky when he got the news.

"I just looked up into space and here we are starting over," he said. "What will we do now? Who's going to coach us now? Coach Echols was a good coach. I'm going to miss him."

- Warren County Superintendent Carole Jean Carey also confirmed two vacancies.

"We have posted vacancies for a head football coach and an assistant football coach," Carey said. "When we hired Coach (Charles) Rutland last summer, his contract made it clear he was an interim coach for last season only."

That was news to Rutland. He led the Screaming Devils to the playoffs and an 8-4 record, their best season since 1989.

"As of today I'm still the head coach at Warren County," Rutland said Thursday afternoon. "I've gotten a letter that's confusing. I'm going to call the school tomorrow and figure out what it all means."

Carey said Rutland was abruptly hired late last summer after Antonio Hill resigned to take a school administrative position.

"Coach Rutland is welcome to apply," Carey said. "He did a fine job last year but we also had a great team. I don't mean it as a slam, but my grandmother could have coached us to the playoffs last year."

- The list is at five, and could grow. Aiken coach Carey Johnson has been contacted by Orangeburg-Wilkinson, but has not applied for the job yet. And Aquinas coach Jim Connor isn't sure he'll be back.

"We still haven't made any decisions about next year," Connor said. "It's all sort of up in the air."

"I'd like to see us get another full-time coach next year," said Connor, who also said there's about a 75 percent chance he'll return. "Even if that means I have to go to part-time status to free up the resources. I haven't made any ultimatums, though. The ball is in Principal (Robert) Larcher's court."

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.