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Gulf's Wright Thinks Health Issues Are Over

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 15, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - It has been a tough four months for Gulf offensive coordinator Brian Wright.

Wright, 44, was near the end of track season when he was eating at his home on April 12 and a piece of food got stuck in his throat. In the process of trying to dislodge it, an esophageal tear occurred. He underwent emergency surgery at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point.

Wright, better known as "Red," missed all of the Buccaneers' spring practice, returning to the field during the summer.

But last week he returned to the hospital after experiencing discomfort in his side.

"They think I may have passed a gallstone," Wright said earlier in the week. "The doctors ran all the tests and were just scratching their heads. The only conclusion they came to was maybe it was gallstones.

"After what happened in April, I was thinking, 'What else?' I think we're headed in the right direction."

Wright, who was born in Louisville, Ky., and attended the University of Louisville before beginning his teaching career, came to Gulf prior to the 2006-07 school year. He met Gulf coach Jay Fulmer while in Kentucky and the two coached against each other while becoming close friends.

Wright served as Fulmer's defensive coordinator during the 2007 season, but is the offensive coordinator this season.

"The thing people don't understand is that we are so close that the coaching part of it is the least of my worries," Fulmer said. "The biggest thing is that he's my friend and I want him to be well. That is more important to me than the coaching part. The coaching part, we'll get that taken care of. You can't put a price on somebody's health and it's worried me to death the whole time since we've been going through this on April 12. I'm glad it's over."

Madison Burr, the Bucs' returning starting quarterback, is also glad Red is back.

"It's very important to have him back," the junior said. "When he took over, we put a lot of different formations in and other coaches don't know it as well as he does. He knows all the hand signals and we're on the same page.

"It would have been a little different if he wasn't here. The play-calling would have been different. He has a different style of play-calling."

Wright knows he still needs to be careful. Doctors have given him the all-clear to return to coaching, but he has to keep an eye on his health.

"I feel better every day," Wright said. "I've lost 91 pounds. I can go full. But if I start to feel bad, I'll back off."

Rick Harmon can be reached at tampabaystringer@gmail.com.

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