[ItSortOfDepends]

Strong hire. Lots of Bluebird fans would've liked to see Bert get the HHS job last year instead of Sphire.

Who was OC last year at LexCath?

Didn't he tell them he wasn't interested?

I don't think he did. Sphire was the first call by the AD once Weinrich was gone and Wolfe was the second. Both turned it down because of money. I don't think Bathiany was even interviewed the first go round. Eddie James got the job because HHS didn't have enough money for Sphire or Wolfe. Then they went digging for more money once James backed out and started round two. Bathiany interviewed that time, but the sights were still set on Wolfe and Sphire. They weren't able to get enough money for Wolfe but Sphire was willing to accept the offer in round two.

Pretty sure that Sphire was not part of it until James backed out. Then when a high school coach(Lex Area) called Sphire to ask about using him as a reference. That is when Sphire heard about the opening. At the end of that conversation with that coach, Bill said to not put him down as a reference because he was going to put in for it.

Not correct.

Highlands AD Wes Caldwell played football at Lex Cath for Sphire and I can confirm that Sphire was the first call Caldwell made about the job when it came open the first time.

You are basically correct. Wes did call Sphire and asked him to apply for the job. Sphire chose not to do so. Bathiany did apply and make the short list. He along with about 8 others were interviewed. From what I understand the only thing missing on Bathiany was no prior head coaching experience. Some felt that having prior head coaching experience was a prerequisite for the next head coach at Highlands. Highlands is not an easy place to coach; the job is made even harder when you've got no prior head coaching experience and the whole town knows you. Poor guy would have been told relentlessly what he needed to be doing by family friends and former teammates! As we all know, James ended up being offered the job. It won't surprise me one bit if Bathiany ends up as the head coach at Highlands some day. I also think he'll do a great job at LexCath. He might not beat Boyle the first couple of years, but it won't surprise me if that changes in a few years. Super smart; very hard working; and very charismatic. Reminds me of a young Dale Mueller. Seriously.