[Tigercreek]

Clay Co. You all showed me that you really knew the right way to find good coach. Job well done and great hire.

[TrueTigerfan]

The committee hired the most qualified for the job. None of the others that had more experience wanted to live in clay. Coach combs wants to be apart of clay
Can't wait for tiger football

[SLHSCard]

Good luck Coach Combs!

[bobcatsfan]

Here you are again tigers eye being all butt hurt. Combs accepted the middle school job at breathitt for Holcomb to keep the program from dying just like chapman did the middle school in the 90s. Ok so before the school year started Holcomb left so combs left. DID NOT COACH the middle school. Ok from there he was going to go with Holcomb and continue his defensive duties under him at Letcher. Holcomb could not get him hired that season. So he went to central. Driving from Breathitt County to Central everyday. OK so chapman leaves Central well Combs wants to get closer to home and so McCoy a good friend of Combs asks him to help him. He goes to Magoffin. End of Story. Kid knows his football. Look at his resume. Has won everywhere he has went in FOOTBALL. He will be the first to tell you he don't care what you think because he has the Holcomb mentality. It will be a mirror image of the old Breathitt Program. Either get behind him or keep posting and being negative. He deserves a fair shake. Did Evan Napier win any district titles as an assistant. Did he win any state titles as a player. Did he play in a program that is traditionally a power house up until a few years ago. Didn't think so. Keep researching. He will smile at you when he knows you don't want him there.

[DarthVader]

I would like to know how Breathitt forced him to coach Baseball if he was working at Pike County Central? I know he's your guy man but come on, inquiring minds want to know.

[bobcatsfan]

He was coming back to breathitt and was told if he coached baseball he would get a teaching job.

[bobcatsfan]

Knew chapman was jumping ship in the winter and worked a deal with breathitt and he had to coach baseball to get the teaching job. Then politics came into play with his mom who worked at the board and it didn't work out for him. Wish he was back here. We'd take him if you don't want him. Moore wanted him back.

[LandoGriffin]

OK Here is what a comm. member said Friday night at basketball game.Combs is most likely a good guy and does have some exp.but not head coaching exp. Some of the members wanted Eddie but were told they couldnt hire him as head coach because of the reason that he is not in administration anymore.BOA didnt want the public backlash But were still going to slide him in as top asst. coach. If he is interested .Comm. would also like to be able to pick the other asst.coaches for Coach Combs.

[Oldtiger]

Knew chapman was jumping ship in the winter and worked a deal with breathitt and he had to coach baseball to get the teaching job. Then politics came into play with his mom who worked at the board and it didn't work out for him. Wish he was back here. We'd take him if you don't want him. Moore wanted him back.

Nope we're keeping him,

I spoke with a couple committee members last night at the WYMT and Combs blew them away in the interview process, furthermore he wants to move to Clay County and become a member of our community. They said some of the other applicants had no intention of moving to Clay, didn't even have teaching credentials, had no current experience as a football coach, or they had so many foolish demands you'd have thought they were being interviewd for the Bengals job. The committee members said not a single negative word or implication of an issue could be found in the vetting process of Coach Combs, everyone spoke with confirmed his character and work ethic when it comes to his life, teaching and coaching. I sure wouldn't want anybody to get in my past and start digging around looking for a speck of dirt. HA

Everyone needs to understand at this point in time Clay County has a tiny handful of individuals who are stinging from the dismissal of the previous staff, and will say or do anything to diminish the significants of this hire which is completely understandable. These are the same individuals who were sure the committee would hire from within the infamous Clay County Good Old Boy Network. The committee was made of an eclectic group of individuals. I never dreamed in a million years those guys would end up on the same page. I figured it'd be a war; each member with his own agenda, but they chose Coach Combs in a unanimous decision, which to me was the most miraculous aspect of this whole process.

[Oldtiger]

Smith wasn't ever considered, great guy just no coaching experience here lately.

[Westside]

Congrats to him.

[LandoGriffin]

Hope nobody digs into the past of a couple of Comm. members but thats another topic all together .Congrat to Coach COMBS and welcome to our community.

[BrokenArrow]

Congrats to Coach Combs wish you and your program nothing but the best.

[TrueTigerfan]

If Everyone on this thread really is interested in what's best for Clay County and this football team they will get behind Coach Combs 100%. Of course that will not happen and there will be those that shoot him, the committe and the admin down every chance they get. Must live a sad life that you have to always gripe and look at the negative. I for one am super excited. This is a great time in Tiger Country. We have a chance to start over and could possibly be on to something great. The admin will work close with him to help him surround himself with good clay county people. Shocker--they are people right here in Clay hoping to take a front seat to watch him fail. Shame on you. If nothing else be happy for our kids and support them. A proud and exciting day in TigerTown.

[Bird]

I will begin to be more positive when everything starts to change. The good ole boy committee wants to name this assistant and that assistant, they can't stand not to have control of everything football related here. I would question any hire until they prove themselves in some fashion, the listen boys I know what I am doing with the last staff clearly didn't work. IMO Combs should be given some advise on the people who are open to helping him. If he gave the committee the confidence to hire him they should have the confidence in him to do his job. I have no gripe with Combs, it's the people who put him there and the motives behind why they did.

[enknight84]

Congratulations Justin. Wish you much success!

[walterwhite]

I would like to know how Breathitt forced him to coach Baseball if he was working at Pike County Central? I know he's your guy man but come on, inquiring minds want to know.

It's hard to get a teaching job in many places. You do what you have to do to get a job. Happens all the time in lots of counties.

[DarthVader]

Was he not teaching at Pike Central though? Did Clay have a spot open for him? hope they are hooking him up with more than just a coaching stipend like they did their last coach.

[bossman313]

I guess I was raised differently than most people. If we made a mess in our house my mother didnt call someone to come clean that mess up, she "highly recommended" we cleaned it up ourselves. Well we have a mess here in Clay County. Since 1994 we have had 6 winning seasons. During this 20 year period we have been winning at a blistering 39.6%. (93/142)...Also during this time we have hired 7 coaches. (you can do the math on that one)...So I am somewhat bothered today. And confused. I dont mind giving a hard-working young man a chance to coach in his first head coaching job. But I woul be lying if I said I was thrilled that the chance we are giving is to someone outside our community. Im not trying to diss or bash Coach Combs at all. Heck I dont even know the man. The problem is, neither does anyone else from here. yes I know he was "highly recommended" as I have seen no less that 100 times in the past 24 hours. But I would sure hope he was held in high regard by his former bosses. Why would anyone want to speak against a hard-working, young coach who was in search for his first head coaching job? So Im bothered today. I hear about the "rising star" status. I hope thats so for these kids sake and for the sake of a struggling football program. But I am bothered after I looked at the stats. I understand he has been at three different schools in the past 5 years, so saying he helped build a program sounds silly. If in fact he was DC at Pike County Central and Maggofin Co. I would like to share a few stats that were readily viewable off the KHSAA website. Pike Co played 9 teams with winning records in 2013. Thats pretty strong for sure, but they went 3-6 against those teams with the defense giving up 39 points per game. At Maggofin, they played a weak schedule, playing only 4 teams with a winning record. They went 0-4 against that competition giving up 41 points per game. Im sorry, Im just not buying the bottled sunshine here. Last year we gave up 43 points a game and I thought it was the worst defense Ive ever seen. But at least we are moving in the right direction I suppose. So this bothers me. I am also bothered by the fact that our superintendent has born and bred, true blood Clay Countians who have teaching applications sitting on his desk at this very hour and they have all been told we do not have any openings for these young adults who only wanted to go to college, move back home, raise a family and live a fruitful life. Now by some sort of magic we have a teaching position for a new coach from Breathitt County. Should the coach have a teaching job? Absolutely. And it needs to be at CCHS so he can be seen, monitor his players, and stay involved with the student body. I dont have an issue with the new coach having a teaching position, I am just bothered by tax paying moms and dads having to see their children be told they have to apply for work in Laurel, Knox, Whitley and Jackson Counties because we do not have a job for them. Having said all of that I realize no one usually wants your opinion unless it supports theirs. I wish Justin Combs the best. I hope he does well and we can get this program back ontop. Its been a while since we have had a consistent winner. Go Tigers...

[TheTigersEye]

Thats exactly the things I am saying Bossman, look at who he is "Highly Recommended" by:
Mike Holcombs - His Former Coach, Justin Haddix - Went to High School with him, Dudley Hilton - lived in Breathitt for 10 years or so and coached Holcomb and Chapman in school and probably several of the kids family members, John Paul Chapman - another of his high school coaches.

Not to mention that Dudley and Holcomb are so well connected they could get a few other guys to call, The guy is a "rising star" but he's been to three different school districts in 3 years.

This guy fits non of what Mr. Couch said he was looking for in his press releases.

Apparently, he was hired as a Coordinator at Breathitt with 0 years of experience, only thing is people in Breathitt have no clue about him being the DC in 2011 right in the middle of his tenure. Breathitt Defense showed no improvement under his watch, Pike Central Defense got worse, Magoffin County Defense improved by 2 points per game average. The guy has been coaching for I guess 5 years, has show 0 marked improvement on any team he has coached on looking at the Before Combs and After Combs statistics and is considered a rising star HOW?

I am sorry guys, he may be a football god but FACTS and STATISTICS just don't back it up, Which is what I am basing my opinion on. Just his bunch of his homeboys online back him up, and I know bobcatsfan is going to get all tore up at me but thats okay. People get all upset when you pull out facts, and your opinion differs from theirs. I am not trying to dog your guy at all, he may be great, but facts don't back up this hire. The only positive he can show on his coaching tenure is that he improved Magoffins D by 2 pts a game from 2013 to 2014.

[TheTigersEye]

Clay Co. You all showed me that you really knew the right way to find good coach. Job well done and great hire.

Thats the way you do it, Fire your local guy thats put blood sweat and tears into the program, post a job, talk to wayne mills for 2 weeks, wait til the job closes, talk to wayne mills some more, delay and waste candidates time who are probably interested in coming like duncum etc., get turned down by Mills, scramble around, hit the buffet, have "interviews", hire a guy with neglible experience and has shown no improvement on any team he has ever coached on or who fits a teaching position in the district. :hilarious:

Charlie Daniels: "That's the way it's done boys"


I honestly hope the guy does a great job here, but I am just going by stats and facts. I wish him the best of luck.

[LandoGriffin]

Tiger eye will you please be quiet .We dont want to here facts we want to here how our comm. made the right decision.

[SKINNYPIG]

The fact is Justin Combs is our coach. Statistics well tell us that digging so deep to find only negatives will breed, well you guessed it, negativity.

I have no idea what the agenda of those that are tracing, digging and looking at every single angle to find a negative attribute to post on a public forum may be. I do know this, at this point it does nothing positive for the program or those young men that will be a part of it. I don't get it.

Hopefully no one with any sense reads this crap. This may be a perfect time to wipe any public forum where people anonymously post at will from my iPad. I might change my mind if ANYONE give me one positive that comes from the last few posts in this thread. I'm waiting.

[TheTigersEye]

Statistics will also show us where positives have occurred. Much is being made about being a rising star, this site is simply for debate and thats all I am doing with factual evidence, like I said he may be great, but nothing has shown from his current body of work that he will be. He made a 2 point increase and 1 win increase in his time at Magoffin, That's a positve.
Stepp - Head Coaching Experience, Won a few games at Berea
Arnett - Multiple State Titles won from the state of Florida as an Assistant at a Top Notch Program.
Roark - Won title as a Head Coach, Successful virtually every season at M'boro, was a Div. I Football Player.
Evan - Assisted all of these guys and had put in over a decade with the program. Played at EKU. Local Tiger Great.
Combs - Assistant Coach for 5 years, improved Magoffin win total by 1 win and 2 pts per game on defense.


Who don't belong? Guys I am sorry I ruffle your feathers, and I have nothing at all to say about the boys character but come on, to say that this is the savior of our program? he's the least most qualified of any of the guys that have coached here that has led to this current mess. I truly honestly hope he does great and makes me eat all the crow.

[DarthVader]

I am hearing Combs was more of a Volunteer Assistant at Breathitt instead of a key player on their defensive staff while he was working at a sporting goods store instead of the school system until his last year there when he was a Tutor or something. I try to be about as neutral as possible on here but thats just what I've heard. He's the coach and that's all that matters at this point try to get behind him the best you can, I have a feeling he's going to need it, lot's of sharks swimming around in Clay besides "The Shark" that's a lawyer there.

[SKINNYPIG]

Statistics will also show us where positives have occurred. Much is being made about being a rising star, this site is simply for debate and thats all I am doing with factual evidence, like I said he may be great, but nothing has shown from his current body of work that he will be. He made a 2 point increase and 1 win increase in his time at Magoffin, That's a positve.
Stepp - Head Coaching Experience, Won a few games at Berea
Arnett - Multiple State Titles won from the state of Florida as an Assistant.
Roark - Won title as a Head Coach, was a Div. I Football Player.
Evan - Assisted all of these guys and had put in over a decade with the program. Played at EKU.
Combs - Assistant Coach for 5 years, improved Magoffin win total by 1 win and 2 pts per game on defense.


Who don't belong? Guys I am sorry I ruffle your feathers, and I have nothing at all to say about the boys character but come on, to say that this is the savior of our program? he's the least most qualified of any of the guys that have coached here that has led to this current mess. I truly honestly hope he does great and makes me eat all the crow.

Can't say that my feathers are ruffled, but I am trying to figure out why at this point this type of "debate" is productive.

My point is that we have no factual evidence to tell us what is ahead, everything relating to the future of Clay football is nothing more than speculation. From what I understand, there were no "football gods" that applied. I also find it hard to believe that the committee purposely hired someone to collapse our football program and to take food from the mouths of Clay County children.

As humans, we tend to speculate on our feelings or what we want. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. Speculate and post all you want. Come to think of it, it was childish of me to think you shouldn't.

[Heisenberg Effect]

Congrats Mr. Combs.

[TheTigersEye]

Can't say that my feathers are ruffled, but I am trying to figure out why at this point this type of "debate" is productive.

My point is that we have no factual evidence to tell us what is ahead, everything relating to the future of Clay football is nothing more than speculation. From what I understand, there were no "football gods" that applied. I also find it hard to believe that the committee purposely hired someone to collapse our football program and to take food from the mouths of Clay County children.

As humans, we tend to speculate on our feelings or what we want. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. Speculate and post all you want. Come to think of it, it was childish of me to think you shouldn't.

If he's par for the course and achieves what he has achieved in his past then we are not in for a change, I am speculating based on factual evidence, not speculating on whether or not I like the guy or anything else, like most of you on here are. If his body of work would have shown a dramatic number of wins being increased or his defensive average going down then I would have gladly posted that.

I have a vested interest in the program obviously in the next few years and I am wanting whats best for our kids, Am I saying a football god applied? No, it would be crazy to think one would, however I would hope we had candidates more experienced than combs.

How did this guy beat more experienced seasoned coaches out in an interview situation? When his background experience is negligible at best, questionable at worst.

Evan was more experienced, Eddie is AS experienced, Why fire one and not give another a chance if this is the best we can come up with?

Do I think the hiring committee intentually hired someone that would collapse the football program? No.

Do I think they were grossly underqualified as a committee and lack any real football knowledge as a whole and/or trying to weasle a few of themselves or their buddies into possible assistant coaching positions and manipulate the program? Yes.

Watch and see who becomes "assistant coaches" in the upcoming weeks and my point will be proven. On one hand I feel sorry for the kid as I am not sure he knows what he is getting himself into here.

I was taught in school to base my opinion on factual, tangible evidence. That is exactly what I am doing, if one of you guys will give me something factual, proving a direct positive correlation between Justin Combs and Success I will gladly agree with you. In essence, I am looking for a before and after, with Combs changing the success of a program with his arrival. I don't want to hear so and so said this, because that is not factual or tangible. That article in the paper was just stupid, rising star? says who? his high school coach and his buddies? Prove it.

[Tight End]

Congratulations CC! My advice from afar: Give this new coach a chance!

Don’t write him off before he even begins coaching. Don’t think, “Well no one without a lot of experience can do the job." Because, quite frankly, you don’t actually know that. Give this coach an opportunity. Don’t have a closed mind. Remember: This coach may well be as nervous about this new situation as you are. It’s not easy to take over a team when you are NOT from an area.

This new coach won’t be perfect. But neither is any coach anywhere. I know you might think some are close, but you figure out as it goes along, no one is! No coach is perfect. Your team & school will grow and learn with this new coach, and the coach after that, and the coach after that you just have to give them the opportunity & jump on their band wagon. I know that as long as your program and your coach both love the sport, there will be improvement as it goes along - can't help but be.

Keep an open mind. This coach is like the new kid at school. Every time I have ever had a new coach to get acquainted with, I have worried about it, just like you all are. And every time, that coach has turned out to be different and propped up my theory of what constitutes a good coach in a different way. If the last coach specialized in offense, the new coach specialized in quality defense has been my experience. The ying and yang of the sport! All of which is important, and all of which further completes the journey and the program you are attempting to build

Coaches move on. They take new jobs, new opportunities, or pursue another career altogether - or are let go, happens all the time.

Keep an open mind, and give this new coach a chance is my advice & you will be happier and your program will be better off for it - with the football fans & supporters behind their coach, supporting him - can't help but go farther, than you will if you throw him under the bus without a chance. That is the first step to building a GOOD program is SUPPORT whether anyone wants to admit it or not!

Hope this helps - like I have said before, I don't have a dog in this fight, just hoping for a good fit for building a GOOD program for our area. The best to you and your new Coach!

[E's Army]

Congrats to Coach Combs. Every body has to have a first job.