Interesting discussion and I'll throw in my $.02 about high school fb coaching in general in rural NC based on my years of follwing it:
-Rural high school coaching in NC is in fact in many ways a "good old boy" system. But also understand that those "good old boys" are just like the majority of teachers, administrators, staff, etc. at these schools. They often grew up there, maybe never left, or have been gone for years and want to come home. High school coaching in NC and in particular the rural areas is never going to be about the $$. And yes that means a tennis coach may make more than the football coach, in particular if he/she has been in the system more years and especially if they teach a STEM subject. -But "good old boys" does not necesarily equate to "not qualified" or "not the best fit for the job". Look around at the coaches in your area: how many of them, and lets focus on football and boy's basketball, either went to that school or another school in the immediate region? And to take it a step further, notice how many current Black head fb and bb coaches are native sons of their current program, and the pride they show in being "back home"? Familiarity and affinity with the community and for the program can go a long way in establishing a longterm, successful relationship.Point being, just b/c a coach has a prior relationship with the school or comunity does not mean that they were "given" the job, but perhaps that's the reason they are so passionate about wanting to be a part of it.
-Back to the money thing: many years ago I was a very small part of a prominent local high school's football coach search, and based on reputation we received applicants from a number of states. But as soon as they were told the salary, and that, oh by the way it would be real nice if you could teach 4 periods of freshman math, they declined to take it any further. They also were dissapointed to learn that while we had very strong fan support and a very active booster club, football was treated jsut like all other sports in terms of who got new uniforms, which coaches got sent to clinics, etc. Some applicants were used to having a separate booster club just for football with its own fundraising and "perks" for coaches and players, which would never fly where I was involved at the time.
So what you see with NC coaches who have higher, longterm aspirations in the coaching profrssion, many go to places like South Carolina where the money is in some cases much higher, and you many not even have to be on the faculty to be a coach (which I think is allowed for in NC now in some situations). Or, if you want a "better" quality of life, maybe you take coaching job in the NC mountains or at the coast (had a coach who took a job near the beach tell me some years ago that the good high school athletes in the coastal communities were all playing golf or tennis or out surfing, but at least he could smell the salt air from the practice field).
-In summary and making it Clinton-specific, sounds like the Dark Horses gave a very young 1st-time coach a tremendous opportunity, and he did a fantastic job with it. Small town, rural NC coaching has its charms but also its limitations, and you either accept that for the long haul, or in Coach Johnson's case you tweak the system, leave the product and the players you coached better for it (whether he leaves this year or 20 years from now), and everyone graciously moves forward and wishes all involved nothing but the best. And that's what I'll pass along as my wish for the good folk of Dark Horse nation and a fine, up-and-coming name in the biz, Coach Johnson.
