Prep Football: Rains resigns as Mercer coach after one season to take Letcher job

Mercer County is looking for its third football coach in three years.
After only one season in Harrodsburg, Paul Rains has resigned to become head coach at Letcher County Central, Mercer athletic director Jaziel Guerra confirmed Friday.
“Paul let us know he had verbally committed to that job yesterday,” Guerra said.
Rains did not return a call to the newspaper for comment.
Guerra said he did not necessarily see Rains’ resignation coming, but he knew it could happen at any time.
“The way I see it, its always a possibility with these kinds of things,” he said. “People are always looking for a good coach, and I was sure he was going to be contacted at some point, if not by Letcher than by someone else at some point.”
But Rains’ departure does put Mercer in a bind with spring practice beginning later this month.
“We’re going to regroup Monday afternoon with myself and principal (Malissa) Hutchins, we’re going to talk to the assistants and make sure we can keep some around to keep the spring regimen rolling.”
Rains, who won the 2009 Class A championship at Lexington Christian but did not coach in 2010, was hired in December 2010 to replace Bill Mason.
In his only season coaching the Titans, Rains posted a 5-7 record, which included a 19-14 victory over Russell County in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs. Rains is replacing Mike Whitaker at Letcher, who was 7-14 in two seasons there.
Guerra said the job will be posted as soon as they receive Rains’ letter of resignation.
“We’ll then form a committee and talk to people to see what we’re going to be looking for and get the job filled as soon as possible,” Guerra said.
Rains was the dean of students at the Mercer Central alternative high school. Guerra said they are not looking for a certain teaching or administrative position, but that in the “best-case scenario they want a coach who will be around the kids on a day-to-day basis.”
Mercer now has three head coaching positions open. Both the boys and girls soccer programs are without coaches as well.
David Welsh resigned as the boys soccer coach during last season, and Tim Shannon was named the interim coach, but Guerra said he expected that job to be posted Friday.
“Tim did a great job with the team, but since he was hired as an interim coach, we’re going to post that position as well,” Guerra said.
Paul Brooks resigned in February as Mercer’s girls soccer coach to become the coach at the new Thomas Nelson. Guerra said Mercer is still looking for a girls coach.