Coleman says football post not offered to Brooks
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Contrary to a statement on an Internet high school sports website, Jasper Interim Athletic Director Chris Coleman said no offer was made to former Jasper football coach Thomas Brooks to return to the football program.

"Thomas and I discussed the position but he never really applied for the job," Coleman said. "He was interested and always enjoyed Jasper and thought it might be a great opportunity to come back home."

The site stated that Brooks turned down the offer but Coleman said no such offer was ever made.

"We just talked about the possibility of him coming back and having someone like Thomas come back would have been great for us," Coleman said. "He just didn't feel like the time was right for him."

Earlier in the process, Coleman had hoped to have a decision made by the March 19 JISD board meeting but he admitted that won't be happening.

"We are reviewing applications at this time so now we are up to the second stage of the process," Coleman said. "We plan on narrowing it down to five or six applicants, visit their campuses and hopefully, have something done by the end of this month."

He said applications were received from outside the district as well as some from inside the current coaching staff.

"The guys that are here we know the kind of program they have been in but I like to go see first-hand what kind of program the coaches run," Coleman said. "We don't want to leave any stone unturned. The people that have applied for the position we feel really good about them."