BUTLER TWP— There are 31 applicants for the open Butler High head football coach position, assistant superintendent of personnel Jerry Slamecka said Friday.

Friday marked the deadline for prospective coaches to apply for the position, which became available when Garry Cathell was dismissed at Butler's Dec. 11 school board meeting.

"We'll still accept any stragglers who may apply in the next day or so, but this looks to be it,"Slamecka said

He said the school district received more than 31 applications five years ago, when Cathell took over as coach.

Applications for the current opening have come from seven states:Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, Georgia, Florida and Idaho.

"All of the applicants either have roots in Western Pennsylvania or have interest in returning here,"Slamecka said.

Ten current high school head coaches have applied for the job. The other applicants are either high school assistant football coaches or are connected to college programs.

"With the exception of a couple, every person who's applied has a good football coaching background,"Slamecka said.

Butler's central office staff will review the applications over the next week and sort them by priority. No date has been set to begin the interview process, though Slamecka said interviews would likely begin the following week.

The number of candidates to be interviewed has not been determined.

"If we honestly believe all 31 deserve to be interviewed, we'll interview all 31 ... though I doubt that will happen,"Slamecka said.

Butler has no timetable for naming its next coach. School board meetings are scheduled for Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 next month.

Slamecka estimated the process for naming a coach could take three weeks.