Monterey High has filled one vacancy with Shaumbe Wright set to become the new athletic director on July 1. But a new hole has appeared as announced new football coach Eric Small has informed the school he will not be replacing Tom Newton who resigned in January.
Regarding Small, principal Marcie Plummer said: "He will not be joining us due to an unfortunate family situation that won't allow him to leave South Carolina."
With Small out of the picture, Monterey has turned to assistant Jared Bell to oversee the Toreadores' off-season workouts.
This message has been posted at the top of the Monterey High School website: "Due to unforeseen personal circumstances, the teacher/football coach we hired to begin this summer is unable to join the MHS team. We are working diligently to recruit and hire a highly-qualified replacement. If you know of a candidate, please refer them to MPUSD's Human Resources website."
Monterey is now conducting interviews for the coaching job," Plummer said.
Small would have walked into a favorable situation. Monterey went 8-3 last season and has star rising senior quarterback Carter Aldrete returning.
Meantime, Wright is poised to replace Randy Roach as AD. Roach stepped down to spend more time with his family which includes the addition of a new baby, Plummer said.
Formerly known as Shaumbe Wright-Fair, Wright is an ex-Monterey and Washington State star who spent one season with the Detroit Lions and had a short stint with the Kansas City Chiefs. He also played with the Rhein Fire of the World League of American Football.
Most recently Wright has been an assistant football coach at Monterey High. He also is a law school graduate and served as a Monterey policeman.
Cougfan.com bestowed upon Wright the tongue-in-cheek award of having the best name in the nearly 120 years of Cougar football, ahead of such notables as Samoa Samoa and Kyle Stiffarm.
"Best name," Wright told the Washington fan website. "What an honor!"
Wright played for coach Dennis Erickson at Washington State and led the conference in rushing his senior year. He finished his career with 3,804 all-purpose yards and 26 touchdowns and was known for doing back flips in full gear.
In the 1992 Apple Cup game against rival Washington, he ran through driving snow for 194 yards and three touchdowns and Cougars' quarterback Drew Bledsoe passed the Huskies dizzy as Washington State prevailed 42-23.
Now with Wright set to be the new Monterey AD, the next figurative back flip for the athletic program will be when it finds a football coach who shows up ready to do the job.
