There were a lot of smiles in the board room of the Kosciusko school district Monday afternoon as Casey Orr was officially approved as Kosciusko’s new head football coach.
It took a while to fill the slot — much longer than administrators had hoped or expected — but in the end, KHS Athletic Director Macy Wilbanks said the district is pleased with the selection.
“We are real excited about Casey. He actually did not apply the first time,” Wilbanks said. “We were excited to get him in here and he comes very highly recommended.”
KHS had been diligently searching for a new coach since the resignation of Kelly Causey last December. Kosy thought it had found its man earlier this year when the board approved the hiring of Justin Hunter. However, he opted to take the head coaching job at Pearl High School when it came available a few weeks after he was approved as the KHS coach.
Interestingly, Hunter was the head coach at Noxapater High School the two years before Orr became head coach in the nearby district.
Orr said the reason he did not apply for the job the first time it was advertised was because he and Hunter are friends.
“That is something we actually talked about, and decided that Justin would apply,” Orr said.
Despite that, Orr said KHS football program and the community of Kosciusko have been on his radar for quite some time.
“I actually played against Kosciusko,” Orr said of his days at Ackerman High School. “I’ve always been impressed by the community and remember when they were a football power. And I’ve always thought Kosciusko would be a good place to work and be a part of the community.”
Wilbanks said there were 23 additional applicants sent in after the position was re-opened following Hunter’s decision to take the Pearl job. She said overall there were a total of 69 applicants and all were reconsidered before Orr was hired, though only two were interviewed before the decision was made. She also confirmed that Hunter and Orr were the only two coaches offered the position.
“We are always happy to get as many as we can,” Wilbanks said of the number of applications. “It gives us the best shot at finding the best person for our kids and our community.”
Orr has a record of 50-26 in his six years as head coach at Noxapater. He served the two previous years as defensive coordinator of the Tigers and was an assistant at Starkville Academy before joining the Noxapater program.
This past season, Noxapater lost a tight contest to eventual MHSAA Class 1A State Champion Nanih Waiya in the North State finals.
The Ackerman High School graduate has also served the last four years as athletic director at Noxapater, and will serve as an assistant athletic director at Kosy. He had additionally previously served as head baseball coach at Noxapater for five seasons.
Orr and his wife Linley live in Choctaw County with their three children — 11-year old Kip Frey, 10-year-old Colt Frey and 4-month-old Charlotte Orr.
Wilbanks said she hopes Orr will be able to be on staff as soon as possible. That will depend on when the Louisville School District (which oversees Noxapater, Nanih Waiya, and Louisville High School) releases him.
While Causey stepped down as head coach in December, he was still on staff at the school. During Monday’s board meeting, his resignation as a teacher at KHS was approved by the school board effective March 2. That opens a position for Orr as soon as he is released from his current contract.
Orr said his desire is to build a long-term winning football program at KHS — one the community can be proud of.
“But it will take time,” he said. “You can’t just go for one or two years of success if you want it to continue. You have to build the foundation the right way. That’s something I’m really excited about.”
He said he looks forward to seeing who will remain on his staff at KHS before placing people in the right positions, making other staff decisions after that.
“I’m really excited and ready to go,” he said. “I’m expecting good things.’
