By By Robbie Robertson/The Meridian Star
Dec. 8, 2000
LIVINGSTON, Ala. A list of five candidates for the head football coach at the University of West Alabama has been given to university president Dr. Ed Roach.
Athletic Director Dee Outlaw said the list, which is unranked, has been given to Roach, who will make the final decision on who will lead the Tiger program.
Outlaw would not release the names of the five finalists.
Outlaw said he did not know when a decision would be made but hoped it would be soon.
A search committee has interviewed nine candidates for the job, including several with UWA connections.
Among the nine interviewed are four high school coaches and five college coaches.
The high school coaches include Patrician Academy coach Joe Nettles, Pickens Academy coach Lynn Wright, Fayette County coach Walden Tucker and Escambia, Fla. High coach Ronnie Gilliland. All four of the high school coaches played at UWA.
The college coaches interviewed include Jacksonville State offensive coordinator Willie Slater. Slater is a UWA graduate for assistant under Lloyd Sisco. He also coached on national championship teams at North Alabama and Troy State.
Current UWA defensive coordinator Tony Oglesby was also interviewed. Oglesby was a four-time letterman at UWA and a three-year starter at linebacker for UWA.
Southern Arkansas assistant head coach Tommy Laurendine has also been interviewed. He was previously an assistant at UWA.
Tennessee-Martin assistant head coach Jeff Richards is an assistant for former UWA coach Sam McCorkle and also played at the school.
Randy Pippin, head coach at Middle Georgia, was the only interviewee that did not coach or play at UWA.
The position came open when former coach Bobby Johns retired at the end of the season to join his wife, Karen, who was hired as the head softball coach at the University of Florida.
The Tigers posted a 3-7 record this past season after going 8-23 in the previous three years. The Tigers last winning season was in 1992 under Lloyd Sisco when UWA posted a 5-4 mark.
Robbie Robertson is sports editor for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at rrobertson@themeridianstar.com.
UWA All-Time Coaching Records
Bobby Johns (97-00) 11-30
Todd Stroud (94-96) 6-25
Lloyd Sisco (91-93) 13-16-1
Sam McCorkle (85-90) 17-44-2
Frank North (79-84) 31-30
Jack Crowe (77-78) 5-15
Jim King (73-76) 24-9-1
Mickey Andrews (70-72) 23-7-2
M. Higginbotham (67-69) 23-14-2
James Garner (60-66) 20-36-2
Robert Cire (57-59) 3-19
Ray Richeson (53-56) 4-29-1
Bob Williams (52) 3-6
Vaughn Mancha (49-51) 18-10-1
C.A. Douglas (47-48) 2-10-1
F.G. McCollum (46) 3-2