Leading Caruthersville football is proving to be an attractive opportunity

Caruthersville interim football coach Brad Gerling speaks to his team during a practice this past season in Caruthersville. Gerling is leading the ongoing coaching search for the next top Tiger.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Prior to his Portageville High School football team facing Caruthersville in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 playoffs, Bulldog coach Ian Penrod was extremely cautious as he spoke about the Tigers.

“I see Caruthersville as a dangerous team,” Penrod said.

Given the history of success achieved by the program, the same could be said from a macro-view, as the interest in leading the program in 2022 has lacked no shortage of viable candidates.

Former Tiger head coach Brad Gerling stepped in to guide the program in early September after its head coach resigned mid-season, and now Gerling, who serves as the Director of School Services, is leading the search for the next Tiger head coach.

“We’ve had a number (of coaches) express interest,” Gerling said of the process, which is ongoing. “They are from throughout the region, throughout the country, and even had one internationally.”

It seems a coach at an “international school” in Sweden, who had ties to NFL Europe, expressed a desire to coach young athletes in the Bootheel of Missouri.

“We’ve got a handful of kids who are going to be back that grew a lot this season,” Gerling said. “They have a ton of potential. If they get in the weight room and go to work, they learn and perfect their craft, then the potential in this town is to the limit.”

History shows that Caruthersville football can be “dangerous.”

Gerling had a tremendous amount of success, as both an assistant and later the head coach, until his retirement in 2009.

The Tigers won District titles in 2017 and 2018, and until 2020 the program had not had a losing season in over a decade.

This past season, Caruthersville closed out its season by winning two of its final four games (including a win over a 6-win Portageville squad), with the only losses coming to C1 state semifinalist Hayti.

“We had a group of kids that, for the most part, were inexperienced,” Gerling said. “They really grew in their discipline in their roles. They learned what they needed to do, staying consistent, and working through adversity.”

The Tigers only graduated six seniors and Gerling explained that the school system does have one open teaching position, so ideally, the candidate would be able to come to Caruthersville at the start of the second semester next month.

“If we could find somebody who is able to make that transition in the next month,” Gerling said, “that is where we would like to go.”

MSHSAA passed a rule this school year, which allows teams to conduct a limited number of practice sessions during the preceding sports season. So, not only would the Tiger football players be able to train in the weight room and film study, but also actually get out on the field and do some work.

“With the addition of those spring practice days,” Gerling said, “and to be able to get the off-season weight room (work) rolling again. That would be the best scenario.”