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Why is it always the coach who is fired? Why not fire the players?
South Aiken's Robert Wrightenberry became the second Aiken County football coach to fall victim to the 2009 season.
School principal Bryan Skipper told Wrightenberry last week that his coaching contract would not be renewed for the 2010-11 school year.
"Basically, we're looking at taking our program in another direction, and we're going to bring in someone to do that," Skipper said.
Wrightenberry, who went 17-30 in four years at South Aiken, led the Thoroughbreds to a 4-7 record this season -- the school's fourth consecutive losing campaign.
The team finished third in Region 5-AAA, and Skipper said the school's move back up to Class AAAA next season signaled a good time for a coaching change.
"We're looking for someone to come in and build a program with high expectations and high energy," Skipper said. "We'd like to get it done by early spring so we can get spring ball rolling."
Skipper said "a dozen or so" résumés already have been submitted.
RYAN RUSSELL WAS the first Aiken County coach to lose his position as head coach when he was fired in September after the team lost its first five games.
Athletic director Ken Tucker took over in an interim role for the rest of the season, and the team failed to win its final five games.
Wagener-Salley principal Pat Keating said Tuesday that the school is looking for a permanent coach.
"We're going to open (the position) up to everybody, but (Tucker) will definitely be a candidate," Keating said. "The one thing we need in this community is someone willing to make a time commitment here. This community has struggled in football for years, and we need someone who's going to change that."
The War Eagles have lost 14 in a row.
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
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