By MIKE HUTCHENS
Messenger Sports Editor
Kevin Goltra’s first Obion County Central football coaching staff is nearly complete.
The new Rebel skipper — who will be on campus on a fulltime basis starting next month — has gotten commitments from a pair of colleagues who will join three holdovers from the previous OCCHS ranks.
The two newcomers are Pat Luck, a 30-year veteran of the business who is retired from the Missouri ranks, and Tim Pitcher, who has a decade worth of experience in the Kansas City area.
Both men have signed intent-to-hire paperwork, according to Goltra, who hopes to add one final assistant in the coming weeks. All three men are expected to be part of a meet-and-greet session Saturday afternoon at the OCCHS fieldhouse, the gathering sponsored by the Quarterback Club and planned from 2-4 p.m.
Luck will serve as the offensive and defensive line coach, Goltra said. He also reportedly has extensive weight room experience and is a former head coach in the St. Louis area.
Pitcher will eventually become Goltra’s defensive coordinator and will immediately oversee the special teams while also being a position coach for running backs and cornerbacks. He, Goltra and holdover assistant Mark Jackson all coached together previously in the Kansas City area.
“I’m thrilled to add these two guys to our staff, and I believe we’re going to have one of the best staffs in Tennessee,” Goltra told The Messenger. “Not only are both Pat and Tim good coaches, but they’re high-quality, high-character men.
“Pat has been big in the ministry in the past and just really loves kids. And the kids respond to him and respect him greatly. Tim is just one of those guys who will do anything you need him to do and do it well.”
Luck and Pitcher will join Jackson, Billy Windsor and Neal Cruce on the Rebel staff.
Jackson will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator in the fall, Goltra said, also working with the receivers and tight-ends on offense and inside linebackers on defense. Windsor, who has filled mostly an administrative role in the past, will add some position responsibilities to that this fall.
Cruce will work with the quarterbacks and outside linebackers.
“We will have three guys who have been head coaches and four of the five have served as a coordinator on one side of the ball or the other,” Goltra said. “There should be a wealth of knowledge and the fact that several of us have worked together before hopefully, will give us the X-factor that is missing on a lot of staffs.”
Goltra will put the Rebels through spring drills in late March with a scrimmage planned vs. Dyer County on the 28th.
Sports editor Mike Hutchens can be contacted by email at mhutch@ucmessenger.com.

Published in The Messenger 2.7.13