NATCHEZ &045; Adams County Christian School will accept applications for head football coach until the first of the year, headmaster John R. Gray said.

School officials have interviewed two candidates for the position and are scheduled to interview two more. Gray said three more are expected to arrive as he heads up the process of interviewing candidates to replace former head coach Keith Walters, who was fired last month.

&uot;We hope probably by the first of the year we’ll have it narrowed down by what we need to do,&uot; Gray said. &uot;It’ll give us plenty of time to see who’s interested. We’ll narrow it down to what we think is best for our program.&uot;

The school is advertising for a position of head football coach with the possibility of taking on an additional assignment within the athletic department, Gray said. Walters served as both head coach and athletic director in his three-year tenure at the school.

The position of athletic director will likely be delegated to principal Buddy Wade, Gray said.

&uot;What we would love to do is have a combination &045; football and track or football and basketball,&uot; Gray said. &uot;Just any kind of combination. It just helps the payroll.&uot;

Gray declined to identify names of interested applicants but mentioned two are from the public school ranks, one from a private school and another from a neighboring private school.

Private institutions are allowed to withhold names of candidates.

&uot;There are some good ones in there, but we’ll always look for that perfect one that fits our school,&uot; Gray said. &uot;We’re looking for someone that we think can buy the kids into the weight program in the offseason. We need a good weight program in the offseason in all of our sports. That’s one of our weak points, and we’re not talking about the last three or four years.&uot;

Walters was fired after the Rebels posted their first winning season since 1989 and made consecutive trips to the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Prior to his arrival, the Rebels had made the postseason in 2000, 1994 and 1982. The playoff appearance in 2000 was the result of a team ahead of AC having to forfeit a number of games. The Rebels won a state championship in 1982 under head coach Bobby Marks.

The football team gone winless in 2001 and went 4-8 in 2000, 3-7 in 1999, 4-6 in 1998 and 2-8 in 1997. The Rebels have not won in the postseason since that state championship season.

Also, Gray said the school welcomed back former assistant and head baseball coach Ron Rushing last month. Walters had recommended re-hiring Rushing prior to his dismissal after Rushing resigned during the summer to accept an offer in private business.

Rushing may help with track in the spring, although school officials have not made a decision about what to do with the position of head track coach. Coach Bill Richardson is currently deployed in the Middle East as part of the Army Reserves.