Oak Hill Academy athletic director Phil Ferguson took it to the team.
Looking to hire a new head football coach, Ferguson asked many of the Raiders’ players who they thought of when they pictured the position.
Every one of them, without exception, agreed: defensive coordinator Bill Rosenthal, who was in his first year as a full-time assistant and an upper-level math teacher at Oak Hill.
“What great respect they have for him, and that simply has to do with his coaching ability but more importantly the ability he has to build relationships with those kids,” Ferguson said.
Throughout the hiring process — even before he was interviewed — Rosenthal’s name kept popping up, and the Raiders soon made their decision.
On Thursday, it was official: Rosenthal was hired as Oak Hill’s new head football coach.
“We opened it up, and the realization was pretty quick: Our best answer was right here on campus,” Ferguson said. “We’re excited about that, and our kids are excited about that.”
Rosenthal, who has spent more than 30 years as a coach, teacher and principal around the state, said Thursday he was excited, too. After retiring from Shannon High School, where he was principal, in June 2018, he never expected to hold another head coaching job. But when the chance came, he couldn’t pass it up.
“I had retired, and I was happy just being an assistant coach,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a little different being a head coach. There’s a lot more responsibility.”
Rosenthal knows helming the Raiders will be a challenge. Oak Hill is a small school, and the Raiders will graduate 13 of their 25 players this year.
“We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us to get where we want to be,” Rosenthal said.
To help accomplish that, Rosenthal is bringing in Dennis Grubbs, with whom he worked at Shannon and who has 42 years of coaching experience, as an assistant.
Grubbs had been working part time as the junior high coach at Shannon. He coached Rosenthal’s son Tyler for seven years, so Rosenthal can certainly attest to his skills in the area.
“He knows football, but more importantly, he knows kids,” Ferguson said.
Tyler, currently on staff at Oak Hill, will be one of his father’s assistants, and so will other current assistants Cody Allen and Thomas Easterling.
Thursday, the elder Rosenthal laid out his basic plan for the Raiders, who finished 2-8 in 2019
“It’s all cliches, but the bottom line is don’t turn the football over, don’t make penalties and be more physical,” Rosenthal said. “Most of the time, the team that does those things win the football games. You hear it every time somebody plays: ‘Well, it’s gonna come down to turnovers. It’s gonna come down to who’s more physical.’ It’s the truth, and that’s been football ever since it’s been created.”
Instructing many of his football players in Algebra I, Algebra II and senior math, Rosenthal tutorted many of his athletes whenever they were struggling. That’s a huge component of the job, Ferguson said.
“We want a strong sports program, but he also understands that the most important thing that goes on happens in that classroom,” Ferguson said.
Rosenthal was initially hired by Oak Hill in a part-time role two years ago, when Ferguson needed an assistant and a substitute teacher, and he sought out his longtime friend for the role.
“I just picked up the phone and called him, and he came the next day,” Ferguson said.
Two years later, Rosenthal has a new title at the same school, and he’s looking forward to what is yet to come.
“We were very fortunate to have him on staff already, and we’re excited about the direction he’ll take Oak Hill football,” Ferguson said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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