Former Bryant defensive coordinator Darrell Burnett was announced Tuesday as the new head football coach for the Hot Springs Trojans.
The hire was announced during the Hot Springs School Board's monthly meeting at the Jones School Historic Building. Burnett will succeed Chris Vereen, who resigned in May to accept the head coach position at Star City in southern Arkansas.
The move is effective July 1. The district said in a release Burnett was selected from a pool of 16 applicants from multiple states.
Members of the board briefly entered into executive session Tuesday before returning to regular session and approving a package of personnel decisions. Superintendent Stephanie Nehus said Burnett was among the new hires made.
"He is coming to Hot Springs with rave reviews from all of the references we have checked with amazing passion, amazing confidence and amazing determination," Nehus said. "We are just so excited to have him join our Trojan family."
Burnett attended Tuesday's meeting with his wife and two daughters.
"I am grateful and thankful," Burnett said. "It is a blessing. I don't know if I ever thought I would be here five, six, seven years ago. My family and I are grateful."
Burnett moves to Hot Springs from Class 7A Bryant, where he was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. The Hornets finished the 2017 season with a record of 10-2 after going 9-4 in 2016.
"Chosen for his commitment to excellence, his emphasis on core values, his dynamic personality and his focus on balance between athletics and academics, coach Burnett radiates the qualities necessary for a successful head football coach," said the district's release. "He believes the game of football, at the high school level, is a teaching tool and an opportunity."
Burnett graduated from England High School before earning his degree at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where he played football for the Reddies. His coaching career began at Gurdon as an assistant in football, basketball and track.
Camden Fairview hired Burnett as defensive coordinator in football and assistant coach for track in 2012. He next moved to Malvern, where he served as assistant head football coach and head track coach.
"His passion, enthusiasm, and confidence will lead our Trojan football program to the next level," Nehus said.
"Coach Burnett has a proven track record everywhere he has been," said Hot Springs Athletic Director Rodney Echols. "I believe he is the right fit for Hot Springs and I expect that he will lead us to great heights going forward."
Nehus said the district's new hires included Courtney Sanders, defensive line coach for the Colquitt County Packers in Georgia for the past three seasons. The Packers were named the 2015 national champions by various outlets with a record of 15-0 in his first season with the team.
Sanders is from Stamps and played football at Arkansas-Monticello before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He was a member of the Razorbacks' coaching staff for seven years before spending seven years as defensive line coach at Missouri State in Springfield.
"I can tell you we are going to hit the ground running," Burnett said. "Hard work is not a question. We are going to go hard and pride ourselves off of discipline and doing things right. I think when you put winning and losing before raising young men first, that's when you fail.
"We are going to do it the right way. It is going to be something you can look back on and be proud of. We will bring the 'T' back. Trust me. That's a guarantee on that one."
Sports on 06/20/2018