Frontenac residents are crazy about their football.
And that’s just one of the many things that drew Kevin Carey to the Frontenac program.
“I couldn’t find a negative with the job,” Carey said. “Usually, when you go to a job interview, you think ‘here are the negatives, here are the positives.’ But I couldn’t find a negative.
“This is a place that has a ton of potential,” Carey said. “There are great facilities and great support from the community. I liked everything about it.”
That interest was reciprocated earlier this week when the Frontenac USD 249 Board of Education tapped Carey as its next football coach.
Carey comes to Frontenac from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., where he served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator. But when Jay Thomas, the head coach there, was fired in November, the assistant coaches were also let go.
“That’s just a part of college football,” Carey said.
So Carey and his wife began looking for a job in the area. Carey grew up in Dewey, Okla., and played football at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and at Sterling College, where he was team captain, MVP and an all-conference lineman. His first college job included a stint at Ottawa University, coaching the offensive line and supervising the weight room.
He then served as a graduate assistant at Hasting College from 1999-2001 while he graduated with a masters in history and physical education. Upon graduation, he took a job as the defensive coordinator at Cisco Junior College for two years.
He spent 2004-2007 in Oklahoma, coaching first at Anadarko, then at Tuttle before spending one year as East Central University as recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. He then worked briefly in Baxter Springs as a history teacher at Baxter Middle School — he lived in Carl Junction, Mo. — before taking the Nicholls State job.
“I’m from a small town in Oklahoma, and I enjoy the small town atmosphere,” Carey said. “I enjoy being from a community where everyone knows you.”
So Carey “put his name in the hat,” of Frontenac Superintendent Dale Slagle. But Carey said his interest really grew once the interview process started.
“I just got this great sense, from the board, the interview committee and the people I talked to in town, that athletics and football is important there,” Carey said. “They want football to be successful, and that really piqued by interest.”
Carey said he wasn’t coming in with any specific plan for schemes.
“It will all be based on what the kids can do,” Carey said. “My philosophy is pretty simple. It’s based on what the kids can do, what we can teach and what we can take advantage of. We’ll evaluate the kids and see what their strengths and weaknesses are.
“I will say that we will play an aggressive, attacking style of defense and we will be good on special teams,” Carey said. “That’s how I feel you win games, on defense and special teams. You just need an offense that does enough to take advantage of what the defense gives you.”
Carey said he and his family — he is married to the former Adrienne Ray of Kansas City, Kan., and has two boys, Dalton (6) and Brennan (3) — would move to Frontenac within the next few weeks, and said he would likely substitute teach to get to know the faculty and the students. He said he would also use the time to start up Frontenac’s weights program.
Once next year starts, Carey said he would teach at Frontenac High School, though which classes he will teach are still undecided.
“I’m looking forward to getting there and getting to know the kids,” Carey said. “I’m ready to get started.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
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