So who should the interviewing committee - whose members were assembled by Kingsville Independent School District trustees - nominate as the next KISD athletic director and head football coach once all of the other names have been crossed off the list? Local boy or out of towner? Youth or experienced? Someone within the district or from the outside?

Thirty-one candidates submitted applications and at least three of them - as far as I know - are local.

Now, before I go on, allow me to say a few things about outgoing AD Andrew Hrncir.

Personally, I wish Hrncir would stay on but he has his reasons for departing (on June 15) and may God be with him and his family.

His three seasons as head football coach - in which he went 12-18 overall and missed the playoffs in each campaign - were full of ‘crap happen’ situations which plague every team but seem to drop in on H.M. King more often sometimes.

I first met Hrncir over the phone almost three years ago when his hiring as a head football coach was approved at a KISD board meeting.

Since then, Hrncir and I have consistently talked about football. Hrncir later had to take the athletic reins as an interim while the district began wrestling with former AD Rory Minter who recently resolved his federal lawsuit with KISD.

Named as the certified AD in March of 2009, Hrncir submitted his resignation in January. I am confident, however, that Hrncir will be an asset to whichever school district hires him next year.

So who out there wants to be KISD’s new AD? Well, before you raise your hand allow me to outline some of my personal additions to the job description.

A. (The applicant must be able to juggle tornadoes.) You will oversee the entire sports department and this requires long hours and all eyes will be on you when something blows up.

B. (The applicant must be able to carry loads of bricks.) As AD, you will need to make decisions in regards to every sport; both boys and girls. Sometimes, believe it or not, some fellow coaches and parents may not agree with you.

C. (The applicant must be able to handle him-orher self properly with the public.) A parent comes into your office and is mad because his or her kid is not getting significant playing time.

Or, a certain local sports reporter occasionally writes a column which you know is going to ruffle feathers; though the reporter once made up for it with a gift which entailed a dart board whose bull’s eye had a picture of him in an Alice Coyote football jersey.

Being AD, from my observation, is no picnic. Sometimes, believe it or not, you also have to be able to employ the political-artsof war. To the interviewing committee I advocate this, hire someone who you feel will be in it for the long haul; no matter if local boy, our of towner, young, older, inside the district or from elsewhere.

It is about time we ended the revolving door of athletic directors who come cut their teeth here and end up as success stories at another school district.