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“Upset is an understatement,” Alex said, wincing. “But we all knew it would be when Steve came to us. But he was right to do what he did. He cares…” She stopped and swallowed. “He cared more about those kids than any teacher I’ve ever met. Winning games and football is a secondary purpose, he always said. He said his job was to make good men, husbands, and fathers. He was a great man.”
“Can you walk us through how this started?” Jack asked. “When did Steve decide change was in order?”
Mary sighed and said, “I guess it was with me. My husband and I have been friends with Steve and Lydia for a lot of years. We’d go over there for dinner sometimes and we’d talk and reminisce. Steve was going to retire at the end of this year. He’d run his plan by me when he wanted to hire Archie Hill as his assistant. Steve is the one who interviews and hires all his coaches, but the school board has to approve them all.” She stopped and shook her head. “I told Steve I thought Archie was going to be a problem. He was used to being the head coach, and being in charge isn’t an easy thing to stop doing. But Steve had a lot of compassion for the guy. Archie was up front about what happened at his last job and he wanted his marriage and family to succeed. Steve believes in second chances, and Archie knows his stuff, so we hired him.
“But Archie was poison to those boys right from the start,” Mary said. “Archie was the fun coach. The one who would let things slide. Those boys thought a little bit of God-given talent was enough and that the extra practices and requirements weren’t necessary for them. Things got pretty hostile in the locker room over the last couple of years.”
“Same with the coaching staff,” Corbin interjected. “A couple of those guys were loyal to Steve, but they learned real fast that Archie and his boys’ club could make life miserable for them if they didn’t do things the way he wanted them done.”
“Miserable how?” Jack asked.
“Petty stuff,” Corbin said. “The offensive line coach would mix up plays for the offensive coordinator. Lots of miscommunication. The kids would be privy to the new plays, but it would leave Steve’s guys looking like they didn’t know what they were doing. Other things like changing times for team meetings so the coaches who supported Steve would end up in the wrong location or missing them altogether. Missing playbooks. All kinds of childish things.”
“I knew Steve had hired Archie with a plan of succession in mind,” Mary said. “But he knew it was a disaster almost from the start. But things got worse this last year when Archie’s wife left him. He started drinking a lot, and there were rumors going around he was drinking with the kids. A couple of the guys ended up failing drug tests and they were kicked off the team immediately. It was just a real hornet’s nest. But Steve has integrity, and he also understands legacy and reputation. He told me he just couldn’t in good conscience go out like this. Because it would have been his name people remembered as letting things go to hell.”
“That’s when he told you his plan to start fresh?” I asked.
Mary blew out a breath. “Oh, yeah. I couldn’t blame him, but I told him to take some time to think about it. Steve was never a dummy. He’s a strategist, which is why he was a great coach. So he was careful who he talked to at first. He wanted to get a feel for things. Know who his allies were. It turned out he presented such a solid case for doing the right thing that it was pretty unanimous for the changes to be made.”
“Who opposed?” Jack asked.
“Only Clyde Warren on the school board,” Mary said.
“I met with Steve and the superintendent together,” Alex said. “I wanted them both to know I was in full support of this. Those boys are suffering academically, and that will always be my first priority. Dr. Keegan—he’s the superintendent—was hesitant at first. It doesn’t take a fool to know the outcome of a move like this. But Keegan has weathered storms before. We tried to keep it close to the vest. But after the school board meeting Clyde Warren was the first to start the fire. He called Archie Hill right away and let him know what happened. And then Archie started calling parents. By the next morning I had a stack of emails and voicemails from angry parents and teachers.”
“Don’t forget the news,” Mary said, rolling her eyes. “It was exactly the spectacle we expected it to be. We renewed Steve’s contract for another two years and told him to do what he thought was best with his team. Steve had a lot of skin in the game. It would have been foolish of us not to trust him to do what was best.”
“Anyone besides Archie Hill you can think of who’d want to do Steve harm?” Jack asked.
“I hate to say it,” Mary said sadly. “But after the last two weeks, I think I’d have a list longer than my arm. We don’t live in the same world we did when I started on the school board. These parents…they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure their kid gets the best and succeeds, despite the kids not earning it. There’s no accountability anymore. And people are willing to cheat and lie to get to the top and pull anyone who’s in their way down along the way. I wanted to stand up and cheer for Steve Hargrove during that school board meeting. And I think if Clyde Warren had been armed he’d have shot Steve right there in front of everyone. I’ve never seen a man so angry. He doesn’t even have a kid on the team.”
“We’re looking for Joe Able,” I said. “Have you seen him around?”
“He was at the memorial,” Alex said. “He and Derek sat with the rest of the team. We held it in the gymnasium. Last I saw they were walking out toward the field house.”
“Now that Steve is gone,” Jack said. “Are there plans to continue with what Steve wanted?”
Mary chewed on her bottom lip. “We’ve not renewed several of the coaches’ contracts, including Archie’s. But we’ve got to do the best thing for the kids, and what they need right now is stability and a familiar face. Coach White was loyal to Steve and would want to see his legacy and values continue. I’d prefer to keep him on and move him into the head spot, but we’ve got to come to a consensus. As far as the team is concerned, grades are going to play themselves out. If some of those guys fail classes or drug tests, they’re out. It’s that simple. Rules are rules. But we’ll see how it all shakes out.”
Jack nodded and said, “Thank you all for your time.”
“You find who did this, Sheriff,” Mary said. “They need to pay.”
“We’ll find them,” Jack assured her.
Chapter Twelve
“It’s hard not to draw preconceived conclusions with this one,” I said. “The people who love and support Steve really love and support him. No one has said a bad word against him. Even Archie Hill’s only complaint is that he was outdated in his coaching techniques.”
“I know,” Jack said, holding the door open for me to the field house. “I know the kind of man Coach was because he’s always been this way. But hearing the stories from other people…how could you not be on his side? Which makes it that much harder not to immediately villainize anyone who opposed him. Opposition doesn’t make a murderer.”
“You should put that on a T-shirt,” I said.
I followed Jack into a weight room where a couple of teenagers were already lifting weights, and then into a larger room that had turf and a line of football sleds. There were a lot of teenagers in this room, along with several adults. Archie Hill stood in the center of them, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I didn’t see Joe Able anywhere.
Archie spotted me and Jack and the huddle of guys broke up, but most lingered close by.
“This isn’t a great time, Sheriff,” Archie said. “It’s been an intense morning.”
