Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2008

Littrell: 'I hate to leave'

South football coach to leave program after 26 years

Entrenched in the Olathe South football program for 26 years, Mark Littrell announced Wednesday, nearly five months after guiding the Falcons to the Class 6A state title game, that he is stepping down and will join Gene Wier's staff at Richland High School near Fort Worth, Texas, as offensive coordinator.

During a 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, Littrell informed his players he would retire from the Olathe school district and as the coach at South, a program he joined in 1982 as an assistant to Bud Wheeler and for which he served as head coach the last 10 seasons.

"I hate to leave," Littrell said. "I'm leaving a great school, a great school district and some great coaches. It's just a great situation that I'm leaving, but at this time in my life and my career, it's a good move for me."

Wier, a former Olathe North coach, discussed the possibility he'd be searching for a new coordinator with Littrell in January.

Five years ago when Wier took the job at Richland, Littrell agreed to join him as offensive coordinator at that time, but had second thoughts and stayed with the Falcons.

When the position officially came open in March, Littrell again balked at making the switch because the school didn't have a teaching vacancy for him.

That issue resolved itself earlier this month and after deliberating for two weeks, Littrell decided to head south.

He met with Robert Kersey, the South athletic director, prior to meeting with his players and also gathered his coaching staff to tell them of his decision. Next came the meeting with the Falcons players.

"The rumor has been floating around, but I really never thought he was going to leave because he's been a Falcon for so long," senior Kyson Ginavan said. "It's his home."

Joining Wier's staff allows him to "double dip," collect his retirement from the Olathe school district while also earning a paycheck in Texas.

It also gets Littrell and his wife, Debie, closer to their son Josh, who lives in San Antonio, with the couple's two grandchildren.

Of course, the decision moves Littrell and his wife farther from their daughter, Krystal, who lives in the area with her husband.

All of those factors were considered in the last agonizing weeks, but the biggest motivation to accept Wier's offer was professional, Littrell said.

He welcomes the challenge of Texas high school football and looks forward to focusing on the offense again rather than dealing with the additional stress that comes with being head coach.

Still, it's hard for Littrell to say goodbye, and it's also hard for his players, especially for the returning to Falcons.

"Some of the younger guys were sad to hear he was leaving, because they know how much work he puts in and how much he does to make the Olathe South program as good as it is," Ginavan said.

After the morning meeting concluded, the Falcons filed through and shook Littrell's hand, gave him a hug and wished him luck.

"That was all I needed," Littrell said.

The announcement leaves an air of uncertainty around the program.

"I don't think anybody feels bitter about it, but we just don't know what to expect," junior running back Jake Byrd said. "There's not a whole lot we can do except accept the change and adapt to our new coach and what he wants to do."

Littrell compiled a 71-33 record as South's head coach, including three trips to the state title game.

The Falcons lost 14-7 against Garden City in 1999 and then lost to Hutchinson, which has won four straight Class 6A titles, in 2004 and 2007.

"When I took over, I wanted to win a state championship at Olathe South and we fell short of that three times, but I feel like we've done some good things," Littrell said.

The program was in turmoil when he took over, rocked by a scandal involving his predecessor, Wayne McGinnis, misappropriating $25,000 as treasurer of the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association.

"There was a lot of negativity going on with Olathe South football when I took over, but I feel good about what we did," said Littrell, who served as GKCFCA president and remains a member of its board of directors. "We built the program back up again and maintained it at a high level."

His football acumen and work to promote the sport through the GKCFCA earned Littrell unanimous respect from his peers.

"Mark's one of the coaches that I've always gotten along with extremely well," Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said. "He's done a great job and kind of worked through the ranks, and I just have a lot of respect for what he's done as a football coach and the loyalty he's had for the Olathe school district and for Sunflower League coaches."

Meyers lauded Littrell's ability to tweak the Falcons' style of football as a coach, especially as offensive coordinator when Wheeler left and McGinnis took over with a new offensive philosophy.

"That's the sign of a great coach and a great teacher: the ability to adapt and change and still have a positive impact on a program," Meyers said. "Mark did that, and that's to his credit. That's probably one of the first things that comes to mind when I think about Mark Littrell."

Beyond the success Littrell had as head coach, restoring integrity to the program and the quality of kids that came through during his tenure now become his legacy.

Littrell, who coached six years in St. Joseph, Mo., before he was hired at South, boasted that under his watch the Falcons had 12 scholar-athlete award winners and their team grade-point average was never below 3.1.

He's proud of that and proud to say he was a Falcon — and that some part of him always will be a Falcon.

"When I get done on Friday night down there, the first thing I'm going to do is check The Olathe News website and find out how the Falcons did," Littrell said.

The search for Littrell's replacement already is under way.

South Principal Phil Clark contacted human resources Wednesday afternoon to begin the process of hiring a new football coach. A formal posting is expected later this week, but Clark said several inquiries had been made.

The position is expected to generate plenty of interest.

"If you've got a program like Olathe South, and we had the good fortune this past year to be in the state championship, but obviously that's going to draw some attention," said Clark, who coached with Littrell for eight seasons on Wheeler's staff.

Clark concluded, "We're awful proud of the Olathe South football program and know that Coach Mark Littrell has had a big impact on that program over the past 25 years. And he will be missed."

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