Clovis football candidates narrowed to five

CLOVIS — The next coach of the Clovis Wildcats is going to be a familiar face.

Clovis Municipal Schools Superintendent Jody Balch confirmed the pool has narrowed to five finalists. Interviews will start next week with a nine-person hiring panel.

The finalists, listed alphabetically, are Cal Fullerton, Bob Gilbreath, Drew Hatley, Paul Lopez and Jeff Willingham. They were whittled down from an applicant pool of 10.

It will be the first new coach since 1978, when Eric Roanhaus took over for Dunny Goode. Roanhaus resigned in December after going 343-141-5 over 39 seasons.

All five finalists have worked in the district, and the first four listed played for and coached under Roanhaus. Willingham taught for a year in Clovis schools and was an assistant coach in Portales before he joined Cooper Henderson’s staff at Artesia.

Balch said familiarity played a role in selecting the final pool.

“Following Eric is going to be difficult for anybody,” Balch said. “It’s a challenge. You’ve got to be conscientious of it. You need to be ready for what that entails. Around Clovis, 8-4 and 7-5 seasons are not good enough. That’s good in other places. The person needs to have a good understanding it’s not about 7-4 or 8-5; it’s about championships and getting deep into the playoffs.”

Having enough people with Clovis ties to create such a finalist pool, Balch said, speaks well of the district because people wanted to either stay put or return.

Finalist candidates were contacted Friday and each asked, “If hired, what is the most important thing you have to do between your first day and opening night kickoff?”

• Cal Fullerton is a 1997 CHS graduate: “I think it’s gaining the player’s trust. If they trust you and know that you love them, they’ll do anything for you.”

• Bob Gilbreath is a 1985 CHS graduate: “The first thing I’ve got to do, I feel like, is bring in positive energy and enthusiasm. I feel like that’s something I excel at. I think the kids in Clovis — I grew up a kid in Clovis and I understand the tradition — the kids understand football, the X’s and O’s. What I want to do is bring in positive energy, enthusiasm and excitement.”

• Drew Hatley is a 2003 CHS graduate: “It would be just to continue to develop character and culture among the kids we have. We have a great group of kids returning. We have to get them to work hard in the classroom. No. 2, we want to have offensive and defensive philosophies in before June 1, so we’re ahead of the curve. We want to implement some new things, but keep the same traditions.”

• Paul Lopez is a 1995 CHS graduate: “I think the first thing I would have to do is get attached to the kids, get welcomed. When you’re a new coach coming in, you’re an outsider and there may be another coach the kid wished for. You have to bond with the kids and let them see your heart. Once they see my heart, they’ll know what my goal is. When I say kids, I’m talking about kids from seventh grade up — showing my face in the junior high, letting those kids know I care.”

• Jeff Willingham is a 1987 graduate of Ruidoso High: “The No. 1 thing I’ve got to do is get everybody on the same page, from administration to players. We need to all understand what our goals are, and that we’re all working together to achieve them.”

The hiring committee includes what Balch called the administration cabinet — himself and assistant superintendents Kerry Parker (human resources), Carrie Bunce (operations) and Joe Strickland (instruction) — Clovis High Principal Jay Brady, CMS Custodial Supervisor Kevin Cass, Gary Wiley, Jimmy Haley and Gerald Griego.

Four committee members either played for Clovis or have children who did.

Clovis High Athletic Director Dale Fullerton is not part of the selection process due to his son’s candidacy for the position. When asked how the district would deal with a father supervising his son, Balch said that would be handled if circumstances dictated but didn’t want anything to be construed as working for or against any candidate.

When asked the same question, Dale Fullerton simply said, “We’ll see what happens.”