The search for a new head football coach at Natchez High School may or may not come to an end in January, according to Dr. Carl Davis, Natchez-Adams School District Superintendent.

Davis said the deadline for taking applications for the head coaching vacancy ended last Friday.

Altogether, 20 applications were filled out for the job, Davis said.

&uot;Our goal is to be able to process the interviews during the holidays,&uot; he said.

He said this Thursday night will be the first meeting for the head-coaching committee, which will be made up of 16 people from the community.

&uot;The committee will look at all 20 applications,&uot; he said. &uot;They will rate them, and then they’ll take the top five scorers.

&uot;We’ll notify those who made the top five, and they’ll be back here next Thursday (Dec. 28).&uot;

He said those five candidates will be interviewed in front of the committee.

&uot;After that, they’ll give me the top two,&uot; he said. &uot;Then I’ll interview them either over the phone or face-to-face.&uot;

Davis said he hopes to have a new head football coach at Natchez High School named in January.

&uot;If something happens, we’ll have someone named between January and the beginning of the next school year,&uot; he said.

He said he would like to have the new coach named before the start of spring training.

&uot;If we have one before (spring training), it will set the tone for the upcoming season,&uot; he said. &uot;We believe we can have a winning team. We can be a serious contender for state and district champions.

&uot;We have the talent at Natchez. We have the support from our players, our booster club and from our community that we will have a winning year.&uot;

Davis said he wouldn’t name names about any notables until the top five scorers were announced, but &uot;in a radius of 50 miles, we’ve had interest from across the river and also from Vicksburg, Rolling Fork and Gulfport.&uot;

Davis said what he is looking for in Natchez High’s new head football coach are &uot;strong leaders, winning records and good character.&uot;