Muskogee Coaching Search

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> The 2020 football season hasn't ended but we already have one school that will have a new head coach in 2021. On Tuesday, Muskogee and head coach Rafe Watkins agreed to part ways after Watkins had led the Rougher program for the past seven seasons. Watkins' best year came in 2016 when the Roughers beat Bixby in the regular season, and would make it to the 6A-D2 semifinals before stumbling against Lawton. Watkins took over the Muskogee program in 2014 after turning Guthrie into an absolute powerhouse during the 2000's and early part of the 2010's. Watkins was a finalist for the Broken Arrow job during the winter of 2014. David Alexander was eventually named head coach and Watkins said he would return to Guthrie. However, just a few weeks later, Watkins was introduced as the new head coach of the Roughers, replacing Josh Blankenship, who became an assistant coach at Tulsa. The Roughers will turn the page and start a new era in 2021. 2020 was a season to forget in Muskogee. They came into the year with high expectations but they could never get off the ground as injuries and a tough schedule would keep them grounded. They would finish the season 0-7 and lost to Midwest City in the play-in round last week. Now it's time to take a look at some potential names that could be the next head coach of the Muskogee Roughers. We'll look at them alphabetically and here's a disclaimer, some are more realistic than others. Let's dive in! <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>COACHING CANDIDATES</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Dale Condict - Current Wagoner Head Coach</strong></span> We lead things off with arguably the biggest name on this list. Dale Condict has built Wagoner into an absolute powerhouse and has over 200 wins as a head coach. He's led the Bulldogs to four state titles in the last decade. From 2014-2017, Wagoner won 48 consecutive games, a state record for 11-man programs. Coincidentally, during the offseason before that 2014 season, Condict was one of the finalists for the Muskogee job, before the Roughers eventually hired Watkins to the position. That's why we have Condict as a possibility, it might be a long shot, but he was a finalist for the job in 2014 and that's enough to at least bring him up in the conversation. He currently has Wagoner ranked #1 in 4A and the favorite to win another gold ball in December. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>David Blevins - Current Hilldale Head Coach</strong></span> Not very far from the Indian Bowl is Hilldale High School and that might be where the Roughers will find their next head coach. David Blevins is currently in his second year as head coach of the Hilldale program and he has them as a contender this fall. Blevins has been a longtime resident of Muskogee and played high school ball for the Roughers. Blevins took over the Hilldale program after one year as head coach at Locust Grove. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator under Matt Hennesy, and the Pirates set all sorts of records with Mason Fine at quarterback. In Blevins' first year at Hilldale, the Hornets went 4-6 and missed the playoffs. However, they've turned things around immediately. This year, they're 10-1 with the only loss coming to defending champion Poteau. They host Grove in the second round on Friday night. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Jason Medrano - Current Catoosa Head Coach</strong></span> Here's the first of two former Muskogee coordinators that have taken over head coaching positions at other schools. Jason Medrano was the offensive coordinator at Muskogee before taking over as Catoosa's head coach, replacing Aaron Meier following the 2018 season. Medrano was an assistant at Muskogee for 15 years and left after leading the Rougher offense as it's coordinator. Medrano's son Jacob was the quarterback that helped lead the Roughers to the 2016 semifinal appearance. It hasn't been the easiest two years since taking over at Catoosa. The district the Indians are competing in is one of the toughest in the state and the schedule has reflected that. The Indians are 3-15 in the last two years, including an 0-8 record this fall. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Jason Sexton - Current Shawnee Head Coach</strong></span> The second former coordinator is current Shawnee head coach Jason Sexton. He came to Muskogee a few seasons ago to take over as defensive coordinator. He came to Muskogee in 2017 after being at that same position at Midwest City. At both spots, Sexton was always very vocal on social media, trying to get his players noticed by college coaches. He was very successful as the Bombers and Roughers had several big time recruits over the last five years playing under Sexton. He left Muskogee to take over as head coach of Shawnee. They are currently in the 5A playoffs with a 5-4 record. They beat Sapulpa last week, advancing to face unbeaten Collinsville this week. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Travis Hill - Current Muskogee Defensive Coordinator</strong></span> We finish with perhaps the "best bet" for next head coach of the Roughers. Travis Hill is the current defensive coordinator and was named interim head coach while the Roughers have their coaching search. Hill will certainly be an option to take over this Rougher program after nearly a decade of being a defensive coordinator at a few programs. His last stint as a head coach was at East Central. He had two separate stints as defensive coordinator of the Roughers. He was there in 2015 and 2016 before taking that position at Broken Arrow, where he spent three seasons, helping the Tigers to the 2018 state title. He came back to Muskogee during the last offseason.