“I thought a lot about it and everything, surely not to take away from the governorship at all,” the governor said. “The superintendent asked me; the principal, the vice principal, the athletic director all want me to do it. And I know I can do the job. At my age, I’ll have to have great assistant coaches. And to be perfectly honest, they’ll have to do the work. I’ll coach the game. Nevertheless, I love the kids. That’s all there is to it.”
The governor’s vision for leading the boys program strikes a sharp contrast with that described by his predecessor. Coles said he could have coached and worked, “but for me, as a coach, you need to be there 24-7. It’s not just a job. You’re there during basketball season. It’s getting the kids in the weight room, getting the kids to get extra shots up, getting the kids to play travel ball. It’s just so much more than just showing up and saying you’re the coach just by showing up.”