SUNBURY -- Jim Roth is not coming to Shikellamy High School.
The longtime successful Southern Columbia coach last month applied for the head football coaching position at his alma mater. But Shikellamy district superintendent Dr. Alan Lonoconus confirmed Friday night that Roth has turned down the position and will stay at Southern.
"The board offered him the job, but he turned it down," said Lonoconus, a former superintendent and coach at Southern Columbia.
Lonoconus said Roth was one of 14 applicants for the position, which became available when the board in November opened the position rather than rehiring coach Marlin Persing.
Lonoconus said the board will move forward by interviewing other candidates and hopes to make a decision by Jan. 10, when the next board meeting is scheduled.
Roth, who guided the Tigers to six Class A state championships, including five in a row, a streak that ended this season with a District 4 semifinal loss to Line Mountain, was unavailable for comment Friday night.
The Braves have won just two total games the last two seasons and have had just one winning season (6-5 in Persing's first year) since 1983.
Roth said in a recent interview that the Shikellamy job is the only high school job he ever applied for or would ever apply for. But he also said it would be a tough decision to leave Southern Columbia, where he is especially close to next year's senior players and the current booster club members.
The only other position Roth has applied for during his tenure at Southern Columbia was at his college alma mater, Lock Haven University. He was not interviewed for that job.
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High school football: Southern Columbia's Roth opts to stay with Tigers
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