The pool of applicants for the open football coaching job at North Little Rock High School grew to 19, after the deadline to apply passed on Thursday, April 15.

The interview process also started this week but the North Little Rock School District said there's no timeline for a hire.

While a special meeting could be called for the School Board at any time, there's a planning meeting and workshop set for May 6 and the regular Board meeting will be held on May 20.

The district had reopened the search on April 5 after clarifying the job requirements for the position and the job became after J.R. Eldridge resigned mid school year to take a coaching job at Farmington.

After a version of this story was posted last Friday afternoon, rumors swirled that the district was going to interview candidates who didn’t apply and heightening the confusion, an incorrect list of applicants was originally provided.

“Only those who applied will be interviewed,” District spokesman Dustin Barnes said. “Yes, Clint Reed should be on the list. Andrew Bates and George Hill applied the first time but not the second time. All of the candidates who applied the first time were contacted to make them aware that the position reopened.”

Reed is one of three North Little Rock assistant coaches to apply for the job, and the others are Blake Pizan and Randy Sandefur. 

Pizan currently serves as offensive coordinator, while Sandefur coaches the defensive line and also serves as head baseball coach.

Pizan was briefly the head coach at Little Rock Central only to return to his previous school in a matter of weeks. He has also served as interim head coach and has applied previously for the job when Eldridge and Mitchell had been hired.

Eldridge had been at North Little Rock for all of one season before leaving. Jamie Mitchell, a Mississippi transplant, was the head coach at North Little Rock before that and spent five seasons at the school before leaving to coach in Alabama. Mitchell has since moved to a second coaching job and also in Alabama.

Among the new names to apply are Steven Hampton, currently the head coach at Nettleton High School and a former assistant coach at the University of Central Arkansas and has also coached at Rogers and Benton high schools.

Two other new applicants are currently head coaches and they are coaching veteran Ron Young of Vilonia and Bruce Munden of Fairland (Oklahoma) High School in the extreme northeast corner of that state.

Of the original 13 applicants, 11 still have their names in the hat and another notable name in the mix is Maurice Moody, currently the head coach at Jacksonville High School and was previously coach at Little Rock McClellan, where he led the Lions to multiple state title game appearances.

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List of applicants

• Josh Baldwin, Nevada School District

• Jimmy Doss, North Little Rock School District

• Evan Gay, Covenant Christian, Texas

• Steven Hampton, Nettleton Public Schools

• Tyrell Johnson, Episcopal

• Brian Maupin, Joe T. Robinson

• Maurice Moody, Jacksonville

• Bruce Munden, Fairland High School, Oklahoma

• Blake Pizan, North Little Rock School District

• William Pryor, Oklahoma Marietta H.S., Oklahoma

• Eric Redmon, Little Rock School District

• Clint Reed, North Little Rock School District

• Jeffery Ridgle, North Little Rock School District

• Randy Sandefur, North Little Rock School District

• Ray Sessions, North Little Rock School District

• Todd Scott, Dumas School District

• Charles Smithey, Calallen ISD, Texas

• Jamie Washington, Little Rock School District

• Ron Young, Vilonia School District