TRAVERSE CITY -- Josh Sellers and Kelly Clark are following similar paths.
The former Traverse City football coaches moved south last summer, taking jobs as social studies teachers and assistant coaches at their new high schools.
Now, the two are head coaches again.
Sellers was just picked to succeed Charlie Wiggins at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tenn. The announcement was made last week, less than a month after Clark was tabbed to replace Todd Gideon at Coral Shores High School in Tavernier, Fla.
Sellers, who led St. Francis to two state titles in his five years as Gladiators head coach, coached the offensive line and defensive ends last season at Notre Dame.
"The plan from the day I got hired was that I would be the (head) coach in-waiting, which is in vogue now," he said. "That was the plan. Charlie was aware of that. Everybody was aware of that. It wasn't anything that was kept under wraps. It was just a question of when, not if. I didn't know it was going to be this soon. That's just how everything worked out."
After the Irish finished 4-6 last season, Wiggins stepped aside.
"Every athletic director's dream is to have somebody on staff who would be your top choice for replacement when a coach leaves," Notre Dame athletic director Howie Sompayrac said. "With Josh, when I saw his resume when we were looking for an assistant last year, it's a resume that's almost too good to be true. You've got a Catholic guy who was raised on a football field and comes from legendary football family -- with his dad being a state champion coach. Here's a guy who's been working at a Catholic school, and a Catholic school would be his preference. It was a real blessing to get him on the staff.
"With Josh, we feel we have a guy of the highest character, with an A-plus football pedigree. We're really excited that he's the leader of our football program."
Sellers and his wife, Heather, have two young sons. He called his year removed as a head coach "liberating."
"When coaches retire, Matt Prisk and Bill Hollenbeck come to mind, and they don't have all those duties anymore, the quote is always, 'I didn't realize how much time I was actually putting into it,'" he said. "That's how I felt last fall. Being the assistant, and not the head guy, was liberating. It allowed me to have some time, especially with our second son coming. But this (opportunity) is very exciting. Now I get a chance to take the system that's worked for 30 years at St. Francis and experiment and see if it will work somewhere new."
Notre Dame has 525 students -- 60 percent girls, 40 percent boys.
"This is a competitive market here," Sellers said. "One of every three students attends a private school in Chattanooga. There's a lot of small private schools, a lot of Baptist schools. We're the only Catholic school, one of five I think in Tennessee."
"We have a lot more private schools in our city than say Knoxville, which is a little bigger than us," Sompayrac added., "There's a tremendous amount of competition for boys. We feel like with Josh this will put us at the forefront. He's not just a great football coach, but a great role model for young kids. I said in our press conference here, his dad had a 30-year run at St. Francis and I'd love to see Josh have a 30-year run at Notre Dame."
Sellers said the passion for football runs deep in the south.
"Every high school football game is Friday night," he said. "There is no such thing as a Saturday game. Saturdays are reserved for college football. Every story you've ever heard about the passion for the game in the south is true -- at the high school level, the college level, it's pretty incredible."
Clark is experiencing that in Florida, too.
"It's a different ballgame down here," he said. "It's a long season. We have spring practice in May with a full-fledged spring game at the end of the month. (Fall) practice starts Aug. 10 and our regular season will not be done until mid-November, right around the start of hunting season."
Clark, who coached Traverse City Central for seven seasons, spent his first fall with the Hurricanes as the offensive coordinator. Coral Shores finished 2-8.
"We did take some steps in the right direction," Clark said.
When he was offered the head coaching job, Clark said he asked for a few upgrades to the program.
Near the top of the list -- that football players be able to lift weights during the school day.
"That will start next fall," he said. "That will be nice. It's a lot to ask of kids to come in at 6 a.m. to work out when you know you could just as easily do it during the school day. And when you consider the teams we're competing against, it's absolutely necessary to have something in place to give ourselves a chance for success. Our athletic director is a former player at the University of Miami. He's also a graduate of the high school here. He's heavily invested in it and loves the place. He's been very good to the program. He wants to make sure we have everything we need to get us going in the right direction."
"I met with our assistant principal, who does the scheduling, and he's making that (weight-lifting hour) a priority," Coral Shores athletic director Rich Russell said. "The logistics of that are sometimes difficult with a school district our size, but if we don't bat a 1.000 we'll still get a good number of his players in that seventh hour offering."
Clark also wanted the school to rejoin its district, which it did. The team had been an independent the last two years. Clark said the change will mean the Hurricanes will play a tougher schedule.
"If you're not a member of the district, you're not eligible for the playoffs," Clark said.
"That was one of my requirements," he said. "I said, 'You've got to get us back in the district.' I don't care who we play. If you want to be the best, you've got to play the best. That was the same philosophy we took at Central. We played the Detroit Catholic Centrals, the Rockfords."
"It's a very competitive district," Russell added. "Pace High School just placed nine kids in Division 1. Gulliver Prep just had six kids go D-1, including a linebacker who signed with USC. There are some good athletes in this district."
Coral Shores is located in the Florida Keys.
Clark and his wife, Julie, who also teaches in the district, have three children.
Russell said he's thrilled about the hire.
"He brings a great deal of experience," Russell said. "He stands for everything we're looking for in a head coach. He's very organized. He's very much a disciplinarian. Since he's taken over the program, we've instituted a 6 a.m. workout club. And the kids have been very diligent (about attending).
"We couldn't be more pleased to have him. He's got a lot of hard work in front of him, but he understands that. He's been there and done that."
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