The new head football coach and athletic director at Pike County High School has been named, and his name is Robert Johnson.

Johnson comes from Carroll, where he led the Eagles to a 1-9 campaign this past season.

Despite his recent struggles, Pike County Schools Superintendent Mark Bazzell said Johnson is the man for the job.

“First and foremost, he’s got 14 years of experience,” Bazzell said.” He’s struggled at Carroll recently, but he did an outstanding job at the places he was before. He’s won 80-plus games, and he’s won area championships and had some success in the playoffs.”

According to Bazzell, Johnson also meets a list of qualifications Bazzell was looking for in a new head coach. “In order to have a successful program, you have got to have a coach who is good with Xs and Os, someone who will put together a good staff, someone who cares about the kids on and off the field on a personal level, has administrative support, and also has the support of the fans,” Bazzell said.

The hire marks the third head coach for Pike County in three years, something Bazzell said stems from hiring ambitious candidates.

“The one thing about anybody with any ambition or competitiveness is that they have a desire to move up,” Bazzell said. “That 1A coach wants to be a 2A coach, that 2A coach wants to be a 3A coach, and so on and so forth.”

Johnson will look to build on the success of last season at PCHS, went the Bulldogs had a perfect 9-0 regular season and a first-round playoff exit.

“He is a person we believe can pick up and continue the good things started last season,” Bazzell said. “He’s a good administrator, and he’s a good coach.” Bazzell also said the PCHS head coaching job garnered plenty of interest from candidates across the state.

“We had about 50 applicants, and of those we interviewed five or so,” Bazzell said. “From there, we did some follow-up interviews and settled on Coach Johnson. We’re excited about him joining our system, and becoming a member of our staff. We’re confident he can pick up where we left off last year.”