In terms of volume, this hasn’t been an exceptional year for coaching changes in Warren County. The vacancies that do have to be filled, though, are giving athletic directors at all three of Vicksburg’s four high schools something to think about.

Warren Central, Porters Chapel and St. Aloysius are all seeking to fill high-profile positions this month. WC is looking for a replacement for longtime girls basketball coach Donny Fuller, PCA a new football and baseball coach after the retirement of Randy Wright last month, and St. Al a new basketball and soccer coach for the third time in four years.

“It’s a constant, because you’re always going to have turnover. Our coaches have done a good job identifying people to come in and help out,” said Vicksburg Warren athletic director Lum Wright Jr.

Fuller’s old job at Warren Central is the biggest vacancy in the city. Fuller left to take over Gulfport’s program, leaving a WC program that he turned into a perennial state power over the course of more than two decades in Vicksburg.

Wright Jr. said the hiring of a new principal at WC has delayed the decision on a new coach, but interviews were scheduled for June 17. About a dozen resumés were received, he said, and most of them will be in town for an interview then. Wright hopes to have someone ready for school board approval at its next meeting on June 25.

“There’s a lot of people out there that we don’t know a whole lot about. Giving them a chance to come in and talk may open some doors for them and for us,” Wright Jr. said.

At Porters Chapel, new headmaster Doug Branning came onto the job on June 1 and immediately had to help find coaches for the school’s two biggest programs. He said nearly 10 people were interviewed for the baseball and football jobs, and the school’s board of directors was still in the process of narrowing the field. He believes a decision will be made at the board’s next meeting on Monday.

“We want to get it done as soon as possible, but we don’t want to make an unwise decision,” said Branning, a former principal at Vicksburg High who served as a football and baseball coach and athletic director at Tallulah Academy last year. “It’s narrowing it down at this point. It’s doing some more talking, figuring out what we want to do.”

Branning’s old school, Tallulah Academy, has had more success in finding coaches. Earlier this spring, John Weaver was promoted from an assistant’s position to replace Branning as head football coach and athletic director. And earlier this month, Brad Ulmer was brought on board as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. Ulmer will serve as the defensive coordinator for the football team.

The 24-year-old Ulmer and 29-year-old Weaver will form one of the youngest coaching staffs in the Mississippi Private School Association. Although he praised his predecessor Branning for laying the foundation of a solid program, Weaver said there were some advantages to a younger staff.

“Nowadays, kids can relate better. We can run around and do some things older coaches can’t do, like show them a block or run a pass route. That’s not to knock the older coaches,” Weaver said. “I think the kids feed off that. It makes them enthusiastic. It makes football fun again.”

Ulmer only coached one year at Macon Central, but has a strong athletic background. He was a catcher for two Class 2A championship baseball teams in high school at Eupora, and played for a football championship his senior season in 2002. He signed to play football at LSU, but opted instead to join the Air Force.

After his enlistment was up, Ulmer earned his degree in professional geology at Mississippi State and went into coaching. He said coming to Tallulah was a way to get closer to colleges in Monroe and Jackson where he can work toward a master’s degree.

“I said I value my knees too much. I enjoy being athletic,” Ulmer said of his decision to end his playing days. “And being a college athlete is a full-time job. You practice in the morning, you practice at night and you have class in between. Plus, I felt the call to serve my country. The best decision for me was to walk away.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com