Attendance was so high at the Tyrone Area School District School Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 4^th that the meeting had to be moved from the regular board meeting room to the elementary Large Group Instruction (LGI) room.

A group of about 25 current and former football players and other interested citizens attended the meeting to voice their opinions regarding the future hire of a new head football coach.

The board will officially accept the resignation of head varsity football coach Steve Guthoff next Tuesday.  District superintendent Cathy Harlow said that the coaching position will be advertised and applications will be accepted until February 20, 2014.

Applications will be reviewed and a recommendation to the board will likely be made at the March meeting, she said.

Junior and current football player Jake Makdad urged the board to select the right head coach for the job—the one that is best for the town and the players.

Although he did not mention Franco by name, after the meeting Makdad said “I was basically talking about Coach Franco.”

Makdad was not the only person hoping for Franco’s return to Tyrone—others also addressed the board to show their support for Franco.

Courtland Pannebaker, 2012 TAHS grad who played under Franco, voiced his support for his former coach and informed the board of a petition that is circulating around town that currently has approximately 500 signatures.

Pannebaker also informed the board of a Facebook page that he had created for former Tyrone football players to post life lessons that Franco had taught them and the impact that he has had on their lives. At the meeting, Pannebaker said that there were approximately 50-60 posts on this page.

Tyrone resident Ken Miles also spoke on behalf of Franco. He told of how his alma mater, Clarion High School, also had a successful head football that left. As a result, Clarion’s football team began to struggle. However, the coach returned and took the team back to the playoffs.

Miles told the board that people from around the state know Tyrone because of the football program—and that the program is successful because of the efforts of Franco.

Terry McCaulley Jr. also spoke in support of Franco and his hopes that the board with hire him back as the head coach.

However, not every speaker spoke on favor of Franco’s return.

Junior football player John Chronister said that he is not in favor of Franco’s return. Chronister did say that no matter who the board hires, he plans to play and give his best on the field.