The Mississippi Valley State Department of Athletics in conjunction with the University’s Search Committee announces the four finalists for the position of head football coach at MVSU. The four candidates will be on campus this week for in-person interviews as well as meetings with athletic and university administration.
The four finalists are former NFL receiver and Savannah (Ga.) High School coach Charlie Brown; University of North Alabama defensive coordinator Karl Morgan; Grambling State assistant coach Sam Washington and Arkansas Baptist College head football coach Richard Wilson.
“We had a committee that represented a broad base of interest including community, alumni and university personnel” said interim director of athletics Donald R. Sims. “I commend the committee for their diligence in narrowing down the 25 applicants to the four candidates who will have on-campus interviews beginning Wednesday.”
All four candidates bring a myriad of playing and professional experience. Brown and Morgan will meet with University personnel on Wednesday, January 6 while Washington and Wilson will meet on Thursday, January 7.
Brown was a member of the Washington Redskins (1981-84) and the Atlanta Falcons (1985-89) of the National Football League. He was a member of the 1982 Redskins program that won the 1982 Super Bowl as well as a two-time Pro Bowl selection (1983 & 1984). He has served as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University, Mississippi Valley State and Benedict College . He has also been the head coach of the Myrtle Beach Stingrays of the Professional Indoor Football League; Florence Phatoms of the Arena Football League, Baptist Hill High School and his current position at Savannah High School.
Morgan has 21 years of coaching experience including stints as defensive line coach at Nicholls State, Southern University, Purdue University and Arkansas State University. He has also served as defensive coordinator at Alcorn State University, Hampton University and the past nine seasons at the University of North Alabama. At UNA, the team has amassed an 84-26 record and a NCAA Division II quarterfinalist in 2006, 2007 and 2009 in addition to NCAA Division II semifinalist in 2005 and 2008. In 2008, his defensive unit forced 44 turnovers in 2008. He is a former defensive lineman with the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1984-86) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1983) of the Canadian Football League.
Washington is a former MVSU standout who has moved on to become one of the sought-after assistant coaches in mid-major football. After playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1982-86, he has been assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman College , Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A&T University, defensive coordinator at Mississippi Valley State and defensive pass game coordinator at Grambling State University .
Wilson brings over 26 years of coaching experience to the search. He has been a coach at El Dorado (Ark) High School, Jacksonville (Ark.) High School and Minneapolis (Minn.) North High School. In the collegiate ranks, he has been a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri and an assistant coach at The Citadel, University of Arkansas, Clemson University, assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan University, Oklahoma State University, University of Minnesota and recently a three-year stint as head coach at Arkansas Baptist College.
“Even with the resources that we have, our goal is one, to be competitive in athletics and be leaders in the professional world,” said Sims.
Each candidate will meet with the search committee, MVSU president Dr. Donna H. Oliver and interim director of athletics Donald Sims and will participate in a forum in which alumni, university personnel and the public will get a chance to interact with the finalists.
Brown will be on campus Wednesday morning with his open forum from 1-1:45 pm while Morgan will visit the campus Wednesday afternoon with a forum from 7-7:45 pm. Washington will meet with university personnel on Thursday morning with a forum from 1-1:45 and Wilson will visit the campus Thursday afternoon with a forum from 7-7:45. Each forum will take place in the Royal Room of the MVSU Campus Union.
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