More than three months after Rodney Summers stepped down as head football coach at May River High School in the wake of the Sharks’ first-round playoff loss to Myrtle Beach, the program is moving toward finding its next coach after a two-month delay.
Summers announced his resignation on Nov. 7, and athletics director Brett Macy said he would like to have the next coach in place by the end of the year. The process was on track until interviews scheduled just before Christmas were postponed for two months before taking place Feb. 16. Multiple sources familiar with the search confirmed the search was delayed while the Beaufort County School District investigated a complaint about the culture of the program in an effort to vet multiple internal candidates for the head coaching position.
Multiple sources with deep connections to the program have confirmed that Summers and multiple assistant coaches were formally reprimanded by the school district last summer following a district investigation into a similar complaint.
School district officials declined to comment on the matter, citing district policy to withhold comment on personnel matters.
Macy confirmed the interviews took place Thursday, but he did not give a timeline for making a hire. The spring open season for football practice begins Wednesday, so the Sharks would like to make a hire as quickly as possible.
The May River position is one of two open head coaching positions in the Lowco after John Paul II’s Chris Myers resigned last week. Myers will be the offensive coordinator at the new Hampton County High School under head coach Rob Hanna next season.
Beaufort High coach Bryce Lybrand was a finalist for the Berkeley job that eventually went to Florida state champion coach Eric Hodge, but Lybrand will remain a hot commodity after leading the Eagles to state runner-up and state championship finishes the past two seasons.
It has been a busy coaching carousel season, beginning with longtime Thomas Heyward coach Nic Shuford jumping to Beaufort Academy. The Rebels hired alumnus Tony McGeary, a veteran coach who won a state title in Utah, and Colleton County hired Whale Branch offensive coordinator Adam Kinloch to replace Kris Howell.
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