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I Don't fault Mance for bettering himself, and the Loris program will benefit greatly with this hire, but the question remains, who takes over?  IMO it should be someone new to the program, with an established winning record.  Yes, Thad Wells is not necessarily new to the system, but would be a great replacement, but have to agree with others on the board, he's doing pretty good where he is right now.  I hope the Blues fans stay true fans, but I suspect there will be plenty of (fair weather) empty seats at the Ernie for a couple of years.  It is going to be very interesting, and fun to watch this transition no matter who the new coach will be. Good luck to all, GO BLUES!!!

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6 hours ago, Blue 72 said:

I Don't fault Mance for bettering himself, and the Loris program will benefit greatly with this hire, but the question remains, who takes over?  IMO it should be someone new to the program, with an established winning record.  Yes, Thad Wells is not necessarily new to the system, but would be a great replacement, but have to agree with others on the board, he's doing pretty good where he is right now.  I hope the Blues fans stay true fans, but I suspect there will be plenty of (fair weather) empty seats at the Ernie for a couple of years.  It is going to be very interesting, and fun to watch this transition no matter who the new coach will be. Good luck to all, GO BLUES!!!

There have been a lot of empty seats the past couple years at Ernie especially this past season. I can remember years past, people would be lined around the track three or four deep and all the seats full too.  I'm not hatin' on the Blues' fan base. Graham is not any better really; usually never has a full side of fans unless it's the Beaver game. Unless Richlands gets a top calibar coach with proven record, attendance may continue to dwindle. 

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7 hours ago, sixcat said:

Desire to "retire" to Myrtle Beach?

Possibly, but this seems like another high stress job for a team that expects to win. I doubt the fan base is as rabid but I expect he will be coaching some extremely talented kids. It's also not the nicest area of Myrtle Beach, is it? I'm not as informed but I always thought the northern areas of MB were much nicer.

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29 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

Possibly, but this seems like another high stress job for a team that expects to win. I doubt the fan base is as rabid but I expect he will be coaching some extremely talented kids. It's also not the nicest area of Myrtle Beach, is it? I'm not as informed but I always thought the northern areas of MB were much nicer.

Money talks ??? He can only improve on a 1-9 record. Heck, if they go 5-5 next year, they'll probably give him a raise. 

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1 hour ago, BigWinners said:

Possibly, but this seems like another high stress job for a team that expects to win. I doubt the fan base is as rabid but I expect he will be coaching some extremely talented kids. It's also not the nicest area of Myrtle Beach, is it? I'm not as informed but I always thought the northern areas of MB were much nicer.

Loris is closer to the NC line than it is South Myrtle. This is a chance to retire in VA, go to a vacation destination type of job, not have to teach and get paid to coach while pulling from his VA stuff. Smart life move, IMO. I know I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I only wish we had gotten the chance as a town and fanbase to come together and say thanks for all he's done for our little town.

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8 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

Loris is closer to the NC line than it is South Myrtle. This is a chance to retire in VA, go to a vacation destination type of job, not have to teach and get paid to coach while pulling from his VA stuff. Smart life move, IMO. I know I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I only wish we had gotten the chance as a town and fanbase to come together and say thanks for all he's done for our little town.

I think it might be more accurate to describe Loris as being 30 minutes inland from North Myrtle.  Still close to all the amenities of the Grand Strand but you probably get a lot more bang for your buck in terms of property considerations.

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10 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

There have been a lot of empty seats the past couple years at Ernie especially this past season. I can remember years past, people would be lined around the track three or four deep and all the seats full too.  I'm not hatin' on the Blues' fan base. Graham is not any better really; usually never has a full side of fans unless it's the Beaver game. Unless Richlands gets a top calibar coach with proven record, attendance may continue to dwindle. 

Population all over SW Virginia is decreasing.  Probably a direct relationship between that and attendance at sporting events.

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11 minutes ago, RichlandsAlum said:

Population all over SW Virginia is decreasing.  Probably a direct relationship between that and attendance at sporting events.

I'd say you are right on that. I was still very surprised at last year's game with Graham at the attendance from Richlands. Just wasn't the same crowd you normally see at a Richlands game. 

First the sake of quality football in our area. I hope they take their time and make the right hire. As someone said earlier in the thread learn from Graham and Gate City.

I wish Mance and his family all the best. Thank you for helping raise the level of football here in SW Va. 

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11 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

Loris is closer to the NC line than it is South Myrtle. This is a chance to retire in VA, go to a vacation destination type of job, not have to teach and get paid to coach while pulling from his VA stuff. Smart life move, IMO. I know I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I only wish we had gotten the chance as a town and fanbase to come together and say thanks for all he's done for our little town.

I heard he is getting north 80,000 to teach and coach at the new school and when you you add on his VA retirement he is going to clear 130k I agree with you that I wouldnt pass that up

14 hours ago, UNION'S HAMMER said:

How much more does Tazwell county schools pay their coaches compared to other county's in the area say like Wise Co. Asking for a friend 

if you teach and coach wise is about 2-4 grand less than Tazewell. Im not sure what coaching stipends are but its usually 2,400 plus a 1/4 month for assistance if you teach and 4 or 5 grand plus a 1/2 month if you are teaching. but I am sure some schools have a booster club that can push that number up some to get a better hire

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I'm sure they have know about mance leaving for awhile I heard about it a month or so ago just didn't know if it was true.but the Blues need to be finding the right man and hire him..spring football is almost here need a coach gotta get ready for 7 on 7s

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12 minutes ago, #1BLUESFAN said:

I'm sure they have know about mance leaving for awhile I heard about it a month or so ago just didn't know if it was true.but the Blues need to be finding the right man and hire him..spring football is almost here need a coach gotta get ready for 7 on 7s

Spring football?   What does Richlands do for spring football?   Are other SWVA teams having spring practice?

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25 minutes ago, #1BLUESFAN said:

I'm sure they have know about mance leaving for awhile I heard about it a month or so ago just didn't know if it was true.but the Blues need to be finding the right man and hire him..spring football is almost here need a coach gotta get ready for 7 on 7s

Don't necessarily need to be quick, just need to get it right.  I'm sure Mance already has talked to some good replacements and passed that along.  He's not just going to leave Richlands high and dry, cares to much for the Blues.  Who ever is on the radar, I'm sure Mance can tell you all about them.  Hate to see him go, but wish him and his family all the best, it's been one heck of a ride, and all the Blues fans will forever remember Coach Mance.

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37 minutes ago, 44cov3 said:

Could Richlands throw some money at Mark Dixon from Galax....hes a great HS recruiter.

Dixon could possibly leave Galax at some point but it won't be for money.  At least not money for his wallet.  Money being put into a program may sway him.  As far as recruiting, Galax has always had kids from out of city / out of state.  Nobody cared until Dixon started winning football games!

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16 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

Loris is closer to the NC line than it is South Myrtle. This is a chance to retire in VA, go to a vacation destination type of job, not have to teach and get paid to coach while pulling from his VA stuff. Smart life move, IMO. I know I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I only wish we had gotten the chance as a town and fanbase to come together and say thanks for all he's done for our little town.

 

I understand the monetary situation and to me, that seems like it's the main driver here. I hate the beach so maybe I'm being a harsher critic lol, but I just see this as jumping into a brand new fire after escaping another fire. There's a lot of pressure in Richlands, maybe this new job is less intensive, SWVA football is different from most areas, but that area consistently has some extremely talented kids who go play big time FBS football so it'll present different challenges. 

 

That last part, I gotta admit puzzles me. Mance is a beloved guy up there and I'm sure the town and his players, past and present, would have liked a little notice so they could show their respect and gratitude. 

 

Everyone knew their were rumblings but surely the HS and the football program knew this was coming, right? If not, they're really in a tough spot. This a little after the traditional HS silly season, so finding a new coach will need to happen quicker than if he let some people know after the season and then the program can be looking for his replacement. Is anyone on staff the front-runner? 

 

Two huge openings in Region D, both with big expectations and fanbases that expect to win. I can't remember a time when there was so much coaching turnover at the same time. How will the Ridgeview search, which had some head start but not much, affect the Richlands search and vice versa? I'm sure there are some candidates both schools want to interview.

 

But I don't think names like Wells or Dixon are even remotely possibilities. Is Tony Palmer?

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On 2/13/2020 at 10:28 AM, sixcat said:

My kids are both teenagers.  My wife and I both felt the way you do 13 years ago when we moved them back to Galax.  Now, we regret that decision to some degree because of the lack of opportunities and resources compared to other areas.  Galax is a quality school system that has been managed exceptionally well but can't compete financially with the school district my brothers kids attend in Cornelius, NC.  The opportunities and resources my niece and nephews are exposed to have us second guessing our decision 13 years ago.  They have an embarrassment of riches, including attending high school classes taught by Davidson University professors. 

As proud as I am to be from SWVA, it just doesn't compare to other areas in terms of opportunities, resources and community investment.  Although I will contend, I am not a fan of the North Carolina state symbol................the orange traffic barrel!

My wife and I lived in Charlotte for a while right out of college and absolutely loved it.  But we had a sense that we didn't want to raise kids there (or at least within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district).  Ultimately after seven years we jumped at a chance to move back to Virginia -- although not back home to Richlands.  Don't really have any complaints.  In fact we're pretty happy with the way things have turned out.  But I still miss living down there and I really enjoy every opportunity I have to go back and visit for any reason. 

Furthermore, I appreciate sixcat's observation and my own view is that North Carolina has some significant advantages over Virginia.  Some of that is due to the nature of the economy as it exists.  But some of it is because the government of Virginia is backward to begin with and goes out of its way to hamstring itself.  The orange traffic barrel is a perfect metaphor for this discussion -- you'll rarely see one in Virginia because its leadership and bureaucracy rarely have the ability to even start a project (let alone get anything done).

There was some speculation about the possibility of Thad Wells succeeding Mance elsewhere on this board.  In somewhat of a coincidence, if my wife and I had stayed in the Charlotte metro area, Mooresville was one of the non-Mecklenburg options that appealed greatly to us.  Only Coach Wells knows his own heart, but the pull of kith and kin would have to be enormously powerful to outweigh the advantages he has in his current situation.  

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10 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

 

I understand the monetary situation and to me, that seems like it's the main driver here. I hate the beach so maybe I'm being a harsher critic lol, but I just see this as jumping into a brand new fire after escaping another fire. There's a lot of pressure in Richlands, maybe this new job is less intensive, SWVA football is different from most areas, but that area consistently has some extremely talented kids who go play big time FBS football so it'll present different challenges. 

 

That last part, I gotta admit puzzles me. Mance is a beloved guy up there and I'm sure the town and his players, past and present, would have liked a little notice so they could show their respect and gratitude. 

 

Everyone knew their were rumblings but surely the HS and the football program knew this was coming, right? If not, they're really in a tough spot. This a little after the traditional HS silly season, so finding a new coach will need to happen quicker than if he let some people know after the season and then the program can be looking for his replacement. Is anyone on staff the front-runner? 

 

Two huge openings in Region D, both with big expectations and fanbases that expect to win. I can't remember a time when there was so much coaching turnover at the same time. How will the Ridgeview search, which had some head start but not much, affect the Richlands search and vice versa? I'm sure there are some candidates both schools want to interview.

 

But I don't think names like Wells or Dixon are even remotely possibilities. Is Tony Palmer?

Selfishly I'd love to see Mance hang around, but my opinion is that there wasn't a lot left for him to accomplish at Richlands.  And knowing when to step aside at the right time and allow the next leader to take over demonstrates a rare gift of discernment on his part.  Reading between the lines more than a bit, I suppose he has an affinity for that area of the country.  He also probably has enough time within the Virginia Retirement System to get a decent pension benefit and now he can "double dip" from a second source of income within the South Carolina system.

South Carolina has some pretty strict rules about publicizing hiring for public positions.  (Essentially, they usually publish the names of finalists for vacant positions before hiring decisions are actually made.)  Don't know for sure if that's what happened here, but it would explain a lot.  Coach Mance may not have been aware of the fact that the SC media would report it before he had a chance to let folks know back in Richlands.  Or maybe he has actually kept his direct chain of command in the loop.  In any circumstance, I doubt that there is anything malicious at all at play.

No clue who his successor will be.  But I think there will be a very solid pool of local candidates to choose from.

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