BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@tidewaternews.com 

COURTLAND—Southampton County Public Schools has turned down former professional football player Greg Scott for the head high school football coaching job.

A 1998 SHS graduate who played for the Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and arena football before retiring in 2007, Scott was told Friday he is not a finalist.

“(Coaching at Southampton) was something I wanted to do,” he said. “I’m not upset. I just would like to wish whoever they select the best of luck.”

The school board is expected to make a decision during its 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, meeting in the Wigwam at the vocational school. The meeting is open to the public.

The new coach will replace Wes Griffith, who resigned after three years. Griffith led the Indians to a 12-19 overall record and 2-8 during the recent season.

Dr. Wayne Smith, executive director of administration and personnel for Southampton, would not say why Scott was turned down.

“We do not discuss individuals during the interviewing process,” Smith said Friday. “We prefer to keep things tight knit until we are finished with the process.”

Athletic Director Parker Littleton and Superintendent Dr. Alvera Parrish could not be reached.

Scott, 33, was among more than 20 to apply. Rumor has it Franklin Head Coach Darren Parker and Willie Gillus Jr., assistant head coach at Elizabeth State University in North Carolina, also applied.

Smith would not comment, and neither Gillus nor Darren Parker could be reached.

In 1998, Gillus led Surry County High School to win the Virginia Group A Division 1 state title in a 46-6 win over J.I. Burton. Also during his five seasons with the Cougars, the team compiled a 53-12 record. Gillus was the Tri-Rivers District Coach of the Year four times and Region A Coach of the Year twice.

Parker, a gym teacher at Franklin High School, led the Broncos to state titles in 2004 and 2008. In the previous season, the Broncos went 10-0 and 3-1 in the state playoffs.

Capron District School Board Member Jim Pope had not heard Scotts’ name mentioned for the job until Friday.

“I just heard his name in an email I received this morning,” Pope said. “Personally I don’t know him well enough to comment on why he wasn’t a finalist. I only know what I have read about him in The Tidewater News.”

School Board Member Roberta Naranjo said they had some pretty strong applicants.

“So many applicants that I didn’t have a chance to go over all of them,” Naranjo said, adding she wasn’t familiar with Scott’s background. “I think (the administration) really had a remarkable choice. I know we wanted not only a coach, but also a mentor.”

Founder and chief executive officer of the Cover 3 Foundation, Scott organizes football camps and the C3 Kid’s Meals program for the non-profit. The program provides food to children from low-income families in Southampton, Greensville and Sussex counties, and Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Emporia and Franklin.

“I’ll admit I have a full plate as it is with all of my current duties,” Scott said. “This just leads me to do more with Cover 3.”

He said he would re-apply given the opportunity.

The school no longer requires coaches to be employees, Smith said. Coaches receive a stipend that’s 15 percent of a teacher’s salary. A first-year teacher is paid $36,740, which means as a coach he would be paid $5,511.