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Zephyrhills Football Coach Search Down To Four

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By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: March 3, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - The list of candidates for the football coaching job at Zephyrhills was whittled to four finalists Monday.

Craig Milburn, Zephyrhills' athletic director, told the Tampa Tribune the finalists are: Land O' Lakes associate head and line coach Tom Carter, former Leto coach Jerrell Cogmon, Wiregrass Ranch defensive coordinator Jeremy Shobe and Mike Einspahr of Blue Rapids, Kansas, who also has head coaching experience.

Each in the coaching quartet is vying for the position left open when Tom Fisher retired in December after 20 years at the helm of the Bulldogs football program. During that span, Fisher led the program to a 124-89 record.

Zephyrhills received roughly 17 applications, Milburn said, which was later reduced to 12 after several either didn't officially complete the application process, or pulled their names from consideration.

"We interviewed 12 and had several outstanding interviews," Milburn said. "Narrowing the list to four was tough and I'm sure getting four to one is going to be tough. But I feel comfortable with the four we have."

Part of the delay has been an attempt to find out who the next principal will be at Zephyrhills as well as to get the exact number of teaching allocations to the school. That will allow for Milburn and the administration to match the new coach with a teaching position.

"We've waited to try and have a new principal, they haven't named that, it's been tough," said Milburn in his final year as the school's athletic director and softball coach. "And not knowing exactly what teaching spots we have it may come down to teaching, too."

Milburn expects the process to possibly wrap up by the first week in April. He then broke into a grin and a laugh, joking: "I wish Coach Fisher could have made it one more year and made it easier on everybody."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214.

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