Bowman Is Ousted as Westminster Co-Coach

Westminster High School administrators asked Jack Bowman Tuesday to step down as co-coach of the football team, leaving Stan Clark as head coach.

“We came to that decision at the end of football season, that we needed to return to a single head coach,” Principal Robert Boehme said. “After the first of the year, I sat down with them and they both agreed.”

Boehme said the change was necessary because of “communication problems” caused by having two coaches. Two coaches creates a problem “because you have two different people speaking and sometimes you double the work and overlap the work or sometimes things are missed,” he said.

Boehme, Athletic Administrator Don Griffith and Assistant Principal Frank Paredes asked Bowman and Clark, who also is the boys’ athletic director, to submit coaching plans for next season.

“Based on the coaching plan and interviews and the tons of intangibles, the unanimous decision of the committee was that Stan Clark would be the head coach,” Boehme said.

Bowman declined to discuss the decision, but Clark said he doesn’t expect Bowman to be a member of the staff next season.

“Jack told me today he won’t be back,” Clark said. “He’s hurt, and I feel bad about that. I would be upset if the decision had been the other way. I could see this coming, but the change was necessary.

“No matter how well you get along, communication becomes difficult with two coaches in charge. It’s like having two captains on a ship. Jack and I agreed at the time to try one coach, I’m just sorry it worked out this way.”

. Bowman, who teaches history at Westminster, was an assistant football coach there for 13 years before becoming co-head coach in 1985.

In his 4 years as co-coach, Westminster compiled a 23-22-1 record, advancing to the playoffs each year.