Head football vacancy No. 7: Freedom

Posted Jan 11, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 11, 2012 at 05:43 PM

Following the dismissal of Tchecoy Blount as head football coach at Freedom High on Wednesday, there are seven public schools in Hillsborough without a head football coach—more than a quarter of the county.

As has been the case at most of the others who have asked for resignations of their football coaches, Freedom athletic director Eli Thomas said his school has decided to “go in a different direction.” Thomas said the decision was reached by himself and principal Chris Farkas. The position will be posted soon, Thomas said, and he hopes to take applications to fill the job in order to properly prepare for the start of spring drills.

During his two seasons as head coach, Blount compiled a 5-15 record. Last year, the Patriots went 2-8 with wins over Chamberlain and Wiregrass Ranch. Blount, who prior to becoming head coach was an assistant for five seasons at Freedom, said he will remain at the school as a teacher. However, he said he hopes to return to the coaching ranks soon.

“Like most in this sport, coaching is my passion,” Blount said. “I’ll spend this time with my family but I know I want to be a coach and continue to contribute somewhere.”

Other county schools with head football vacancies include Blake, Brandon, Chamberlain, Lennard, Riverview and Strawberry Crest.