SPRINGDALE — Lincoln is searching for a new football coach following its best season in school history.
Brad Harris is leaving after six years to become the defensive coordinator at Benton, a Class 6A school near Little Rock. Harris, who is also the Wolves' baseball coach, said he decided on the move mostly to be closer to his and his wife's parents in Arkadelphia. Harris' dad was hospitalized for much of February with a heart condition.
"This (move) has nothing to do with Lincoln," said Harris, who will also coach track and field at Benton. "Lincoln has been good to me and my family. It's about my wife and I being closer to our families and particularly with my dad, who is sick."
Junior Drew Harris, a two-year starter at quarterback for the Wolves, will join his parents and play his senior season at Benton, which finished 6-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play last year.
Brad Harris led an impressive turnaround at Lincoln, which went 0-19-1 in the two years before he arrived. After his first team went 0-10, the Wolves gradually improved to 7-5 and made the state playoffs for the first time in 2011 in Class 3A. Lincoln slid back to 5-5 after an injury-plagued first season in Class 4A in 2012 before bursting onto the statewide scene last fall.
Lincoln finished 11-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs before losing to Booneville, the eventual state champions. Along the way, the Wolves set a school record for victories, won the program's first playoff games, and beat tradition-rich programs Nashville and Malvern along the way.
Those accomplishments made Harris an easy selection for the NWA Media Coach of the Year for schools in Class 5A and under. Drew Harris was named to the All-Area team after he rushed for nearly 800 yards and passed for 1,800 yards as a junior. He is also a top shortstop and pitcher for the Wolves' baseball team.
"Brad was a great fit for the Lincoln Wolves family and community," Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes said. "He will be missed, but we certainly understand his decision and wish him nothing but the best."
Birkes said there is no timetable for hiring a new football and baseball coach at Lincoln.
Sports on 04/16/2014