A coach's story: Gary Murphy has nearly 600 wins, no team to coach

Mainbar for April 29, 2012 package of stories about high school coaches in the Ozarks getting fired.

Remembering a phone call he received about four years ago, former Nixa High School girls' basketball coach Randy Towe recently phoned a former rival when he heard the successful coach had been fired.

Because, when Towe was let go by the Nixa school board in 2008 after another nice season in a long and successful career, Marshfield's Gary Murphy had been one of the first to call.

When Murphy was sacked last month by the Marshfield School District after almost 600 career victories, it was time for Towe to return the favor.

"We started talking and we started finding out, that (the situation was) identical; it really was," Towe said. "Sometimes you wonder, what do they really want? Gary's whole coaching career ... With his intensity, his style; why is it the wrong way now?"

A staggering amount of coaching upheaval has struck the Ozarks prep sports scene this spring, alarming coaches and parents of players past and present.

Chain of command differs by district

Accompanying sidebar for "A coach's story," from April 29, 2012.

As a high school coach, there is very little recourse in fighting for your job.

You play out your season, get evaluated by your administrators and annually face a school board vote that determines whether you will be welcomed back.

In smaller towns like Marshfield and Crane, the tightrope clearly is more daunting.

"In smaller communities, a lot of the decisions are made just by school boards," said Bill Brown, who has coached Parkview's boys' basketball team for 10 seasons after two years at Class 2 Richland. "One of the biggest positives, with (Springfield Public Schools), your immediate supervisors have a lot more say (in a coach's evaluation).

"I can honestly say I haven't met all of our school board members."