In a lot of ways, Josh Morgan seems to have been born to become Warren Central’s football coach.

He spent his childhood on the sidelines and in the fieldhouse watching his father, Robert, lead the Vikings. In high school he joined older brother Rob and younger brother Brett as starting quarterbacks at the school. Once he grew up and became a coach himself, Josh eventually returned to his roots as WC’s defensive coordinator.

Now, at age 30, Morgan’s destiny is fulfilled. His hire as Warren Central’s head coach was approved at Thursday’s meeting of the Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees. He becomes just the fourth head coach at Warren Central since 1971, and succeeds Curtis Brewer who retired in December.

“I’m very excited about it. About everything. Not just the job,” Morgan said. “It’s hard to describe. This is my program. I grew up in it. Some of my youngest memories are being on the football field with my father and brothers.”

Morgan’s hire was not popular with everyone.

The board voted 3-2 in favor of the recommendation of superintendent Dr. James Price. Price based his recommendation on that of an eight-person selection committee that included principals from Warren Central and Warren Central Junior High, two high school teachers, two parents of junior high players and two members of the community. Price said at the meeting the committee was racially balanced, with four white and four black members.

Voting for Morgan were Jerry Boland, Joe Loviza and Thomas Shelton. Voting against were Jim Stirgus Jr. and Zelmarine Murphy. The primary concern for both Stirgus and Murphy was Morgan’s lack of head coaching experience, they said

After earning All-Southeastern Conference honors as a player at Mississippi State, Morgan spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Memphis and the next four as WC’s defensive coordinator. This, however, will be his first head coaching job. Five of the other eight finalists have been or currently are head coaches.

“This is a travesty,” Stirgus said in disputing the recommendation. “You have someone with 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 years of experience and we’re about to vote on somebody with 48 months.”

After the meeting, Murphy said she would have preferred not only a head coach with experience but one who has had success. She specifically mentioned Forest’s Judd Boswell, one of the finalists, as someone the committee should have recommended.

Boswell led Forest to the Class 2A championship game in 2008 and the 3A quarterfinals in 2009.

“I have nothing against the young man. I would have loved to have had a coach with a little more experience,” Murphy said. “I just need a coach that can get me to the big house and teach morals and values. That’s not part of the contract.”

Morgan, who did not attend the board meeting, acknowledged his lack of experience but felt a lifetime in football made up for it.

“If I didn’t feel like I was ready I wouldn’t have applied. It’s a very big stage and there’s a lot required to be a head coach at a 6A program,” Morgan said. “I feel like I’ve been a coach for a long time. I’ve been fortunate to be around some mighty good coaches … I think I’m very experienced. Maybe not as a head coach.”

Some in attendance were upset that Morgan got the job instead of their preferred candidate.

After the board made its decision, a woman who would not give her name approached the members to voice her displeasure. Before she was escorted out by a security officer she screamed at the board members, “This is a kangaroo — you should all be ashamed of yourselves.”

As she left the room another young man walked out on his own and yelled, “This is all politics.”

The outbursts showed one major off-the-field battle Morgan will have to fight. Not only will he have to escape the shadow of his father, the winningest coach in WC history and still a member of the staff, but also the perception that his hire was a result of the family name.

“It’s not going to make it any easier or harder. It just so happens that my dad was a coach there,” Josh Morgan said. “We just happen to love the same school. ‘Politics’ is getting a little too carried away. It’s a happy time for me and I don’t want to waste it on negativity.”

If Morgan had any sort of inside track, he said he wasn’t aware of it. The selection committee scored all nine candidates on a series of criteria and their answers to questions, and the highest score became Price’s recommendation. Price then kept the selection committee’s recommendation a secret since they interviewed the candidates on March 4. Not even the candidates themselves knew who it was. Morgan said he found out he was the top choice Thursday evening, at the same time Warren Central Principal Rodney Smith told him he had gotten the job.

“I was really in the dark. It’s kind of how everybody found out. It’s been a very stressful couple of weeks,” Morgan said.

Two other Warren Central assistants, Buddy Wooten and Larry Tyrone, also were among the finalists. So was former Warren Central assistant and current Stone County head coach Brian Oakes. Morgan didn’t think the uncertainty of the past month would damage the relationship between colleagues and friends.

“It’s been a very good relationship with the coaches. Coach Tyrone or Buddy would’ve done a great job. It’s a good relationship and it’ll stay that way,” Morgan said.

When it comes to football, Morgan said it was too early to say what exactly he’ll change but did promise some new wrinkles to WC’s tried-and-true philosophy of a power-I offense and staunch defense.

“Sometimes when you hit the restart button, if we can get the kids to buy into it that’s the most positive thing that can come out of a coaching change,” Morgan said.

Balancing a new approach while honoring the history and tradition he helped build will be another challenge Morgan will deal with. It’s also one he feels he’s well-suited to take on.

“We don’t want to get away from too much because I’ve seen many teams, many coaches base what they do on what we’ve done,” Morgan said. “We want to change things to do what it takes to win, but don’t want to turn our backs on what we’ve done. That’s what I bring. A new start, but still that Viking link.”

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com