[12/20/04]Over the past 30-plus years, Warren Central football has been synonomous with success. Three hundred wins. Twenty straight playoff appearances. Two state championships. It’s hard to argue with it.

And when it came time to find a new coach, Vicksburg Warren School District officials couldn’t argue.

Curtis Brewer, the longtime WC assistant who served as interim head coach this season, was named WC’s head coach on a permanent basis at the school board meeting on Dec. 9.

“It wasn’t really bothering me. I wasn’t going to get worked up about it one way or another, no matter how it turned out,” Brewer said of his interim status. “I appreciate the support from the administration. From the central office all the way to our high school, it’s been great.”

Brewer’s hiring was not unexpected, but the way it happened was a bit unusual.

He was named interim coach after Robert Morgan stepped down in May, and there were plans to find a permanent coach after the 2004 season. Brewer made his case for the job by leading the Vikings to a 10-2 record and their second consecutive Region 2-5A championship. That record, combined with his 35-year tenure at WC, made a strong impression on his bosses.

WC principal Mack Douglas wrote a letter recommending Brewer for the full-time position, and VWSD superintendent Dr. James Price seconded it. After a brief discussion, including talk about whether or not the hire could legally be made without opening the position to the general public, the board unanimously approved Brewer for the job.

“I think the main thing was, if you open it up and you have someone of (Brewer’s) stature there, then other coaches start applying for the job … you’re doing an injustice to people and an injustice to school systems,” Vicksburg Warren athletic director Lum Wright Jr. said.

The process moved so quickly only three days passed between the time the job opening was posted and the school board meeting that Brewer’s application was the only one received.

Wright added that even if other applications had been received, he would have recommended Brewer for the job.

“The community was satisfied, the administration was satisfied, he kept all the coaches intact and the tradition going out there,” Wright said. “He proved he could win by having a 10-2 record. Any time a person is put in a situation where he has to perform for his job, he did it. It would be kind of crazy if he didn’t have the job.”

Now that Brewer is firmly in place, he has no plans to leave any time soon.

The 58-year old coach has worked long enough to start collecting retirement pay, but said he still enjoys working at Warren Central too much to hang up his whistle.

“There’s not a lot of places you can work where you get up and go to work in the morning with your friends,” Brewer said. “I believe everybody thinks about retiring in the middle of the workday. But it’s not something that’s on my mind all the time.

“If I quit working here, I’d have to work somewhere because I like to work.”

And Brewer will have his work cut out for him next season. Warren Central loses nine starters from an offense that scored more than 30 points per game, and five on a defense that was one of the best in Class 5A.

“That’s the nature of it,” Brewer said. “You go through that every year. You’re facing that same thing next year. You’ve got to have a real successful offseason to get the kids ready to play.”