GULF SHORES, Ala. — Gulf Shores Principal Dr. Ernie Rosado hopes the have the name of his next football coach ready to present to the Baldwin County Board of Education for approval at the next meeting, but says the search committee will work hard to select the right individual for the community.

"The next school board is March 17, and I¹d like to have a name to present at the meeting," Rosado said, "but we are not going to rush through the process just to meet that deadline. If there is not a clear cut candidate by that point, we will continue until we find the right person."

Dr. Rosado has formed a committee of 10 people, made up of parents of student athletes from various sports, which will help weed through the stack of resumes to narrow the choice down to three.

The Baldwin County Board of Education posted the job opening on Friday, and resumes will be accepted through Friday. According to Dr. Rosado, the committee will meet next week to narrow the list of candidates down to 10, and eventually down to three, not ranking them in any particular order, and he will make the final decision from those finalists.

Rosado said that only one coach presently at the school had expressed interest in the position, but has not yet submitted his resume. Other resumes already received have come from within Baldwin County, some outside the county, and some from as far away as Illinois and Oklahoma.

The next Gulf Shores football coach will replace Mark Freeman, who left the school after two seasons to coach at Spanish Fort.