Ted LePage went 86-46 in 12 years as head coach of the Jefferson City Jays. Now, the search for his replacement begins.

Dec. `11, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- Larry Linthacum and Ted LePage have been good friends for more than 30 years, dating back to their playing days with the Missouri Tigers in the mid- to late-1980s.

This is not to say their friendship didn't have some painful moments.

"I was a tight end and he was a safety," Linthacum said, "so we had some battles (in practice). When I'd be coming across the middle and catching a pass, Ted was definitely going to hit you and bring some heat."

Now, Linthacum is Superintendent of Jefferson City Public Schools; LePage, head football coach of the Jays. The latter changed Sunday night, however, when LePage announced his resignation at the team's banquet at the high school.

A different kind of painful moment.

"I know it was a sad day for a lot of folks, Linthacum said. "He's one of the good guys. How he carries himself with integrity, he's just one of the good guys who does things the right way."

Linthacum said he didn't find out LePage had resigned until he was notified Sunday night after the banquet. This is a bit difficult to understand, if not hard to believe, because of the positions they hold and since they are good friends.

But at this point, it doesn't matter.

"What Ted has done for our school," Linthacum said, "I appreciate the way he's run the program. I have a lot of respect for Ted LePage and I wish him luck in all his future endeavors."

LePage ends his 12-year tenure with a record of 86-46, making him the second-winningest coach with the second-longest tenure in school history. He trails only Pete Adkins in both categories, although the gap is considerable --- Adkins won 354 games in 37 years.

To show how dominant Adkins was during his Hall of Fame career, he had 48 career losses with the Jays --- only two more losses than LePage had in 25 more years.

While the Jays went 3-7 this season, LePage's teams certainly had some good moments.

Jefferson City advanced to the semifinals in two of his first three seasons, and went to the quarterfinals three times in the next eight years. In the six seasons prior to the hiring of LePage, the Jays had three losing seasons, while LePage --- who won a state championship at Blair Oaks in 2004 before joining the Jays in 2006 --- had only one losing season in 12 years.

Still, the Jays haven't come close to matching the level of dominance the program enjoyed for nearly four decades under Adkins, who won nine state championship, and Ron Cole, who won the school's most recent football title in 1997.

The burden of history can be a heavy one.

"I think the bar in Jefferson City has been set by what coach Adkins has done," Linthacum said. "When you go into a stadium --- and his name is on the side of it and being the winningest coach like he was --- expectations are high. I think that Ted knew that going in, it comes with the territory.

"Those high expectations can be challenging, at times."

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WHILE MANY AT THE BANQUET seemed surprised by the announcement, many others thought the move was inevitable. The grumblings from some of the power brokers surrounding the program had grown in the recent years, leaving LePage in a seemingly tenuous spot.

Jefferson City had one signature win this season, a 31-14 decision over state-ranked, Class 5 Battle. But the Jays' other wins came against two teams (McCluer North, Hickman) who finished a combined 1-19.

Jefferson City did play a tough schedule, as always, including a game against eventual state champion CBC. But critics maintained that the inability to beat those high-level teams, at least occasionally, was a major concern for a program that still wants to posture itself as one of the best in the state.

Some things, however, were beyond LePage's control, which didn't make his job any easier.

"I've been here 12 years and in those 12 years, there's been a lot of uncertainty at the school," LePage said during Sunday night's announcement. He declined further comment when the banquet concluded.

"I've experienced three superintendents," LePage continued, "five high school principals, and six athletic directors. Through all this, I've kept the Jay badge of honor, I've defended the school, I've wanted to be here, and I've kept the integrity, character and pride in the Jay football program."

Linthacum, who's in his third year, agrees with that assessment.

"Just having continuity at all levels ... you hope to have that consistency," he said. "It is more challenging when you have that kind of turnover."

Linthacum knows how important a winning football program can be to the overall health of a school --- success that often transfers far beyond the football field.

"As a former head coach myself, there is a correlation between football success and academic success, and there's research (to prove that)," he said.  "It does set the tone for the school year, I think it rubs off on all activities --- academics, sports, clubs, organizations."

As for the future of LePage, he's been in the school district more than five years, so he's a tenured employee. His resignation as head football coach has no bearing on his position as a PE teacher, now or in the future, or any other possible position.

The search for his replacement will begin immediately, a process that will be discussed at Monday night's school board meeting. But this much, we know:

"It will be the same process we use for a head football coach or a teacher or a principal ... all staff members," Linthacum said. "And that's having clear expectations for the program and for the position.

"We also recognize that there are high expectations here for our football program. But we're trying to raise the bar here in all areas, whether it's football or anything else, like trying to get kids to read at grade level.

"The expectations at Jefferson City, the Pride Through Excellence and the traditions we have here, we want to have championship programs in everything we do."

There's no timetable for finding the next head coach, Linthacum said.

"We want to be thorough, but we want to be consistent with our process and use common sense," Linthacum said. "There's the old saying: 'Be quick, but don't hurry.' We want to find the best candidate to lead our program moving forward."

It hasn't been determined if there will be a committee formed to be a part of the search process. "But at the end of the day," Linthacum said, "it's not going to be a community vote."

With the opening of the new high school in 2019 (names have been narrowed to Capital City High School, Stoneridge, and Mission High School; no school colors or a mascot have been determined) --- and with it, cutting the talent base for the Jays in half --- will this affect the appeal of the position?

"The Jeff City Jays will still be the Jeff City Jays," Linthacum said. "There are traditions of excellence here and that will continue."

Loeffler's Link

Linthacum discusses resignation of LePage, search for new coach