New HC Columbus North

[Titan32]

[oldtimeqb]

Side question - is that AD Brian Lewis,  formerly of Jasper Brian Lewis? Or just someone else with the same name? 
 

 

[Bobref]

From the outside looking in, this is interesting. The program has sort of been treading water since the Tim Bless days. But now, reaching in to Texas for a HFC. Does this gentleman have some Indiana/Columbus connection? Does this signal a new commitment to getting back to a top tier program?

[jstacy13]

It looks like he has a very extensive coaching experience.  This will be his 8th head coaching job, 1 of these he didn't coach a game.  He doesn't stay anywhere too long.  It looks like 2 years is the longest he has stayed anywhere.

2010 - LB Coach - Glenville State University (WV)
2011 - LB Coach - University of South Dakota
2012 - Head Coach - Duval Charter High School (FL) - Dismissed after 0-7 start
2013 - Head Coach - Admiral Farragut Academy (FL)
2015 - Head Coach - Atlantic High School (FL) - Resigned before season - 0 games
2015 - Head Coach - Massautten Military Academy (VA)
2016 - DL Coach - Southern Oregon University
2017 - DC - East High School (GA)
2019 - DC - Willamette University (OR)
2020 - Head Coach - Mount Zion High School (GA)
2023 - Head Coach - Notre Dame High School (OH)
2025 - DC/Interim Head Coach - Manor High School (TX)

Edited June 4 by jstacy13

[JQWL]

2 hours ago, oldtimeqb said:

Side question - is that AD Brian Lewis,  formerly of Jasper Brian Lewis? Or just someone else with the same name? 
 

 

Last I knew Brian Lewis was an assistant commissioner of the IHSAA, so I think it is an imposter Brian Lewis.

[JustRules]

9 hours ago, Bobref said:

From the outside looking in, this is interesting. The program has sort of been treading water since the Tim Bless days. But now, reaching in to Texas for a HFC. Does this gentleman have some Indiana/Columbus connection? Does this signal a new commitment to getting back to a top tier program?

I've known a lot of coaches that moved between many schools in the same state as they progressed but not one that went to many different states. CN improved significantly with Coach Haston. They started strong but struggled down the stretch due to injuries. They seem to have all the athletes in Columbus right now with Columbus East struggling. They will probably never compete with the big boys in Indy, but they can put together a decent 6A team that will compete with most teams.

[Frozen Tundra]

1 hour ago, JustRules said:

CN improved significantly with Coach Haston.

Respectfully, I disagree with this statement. He had one winning season in four years. He was below .500 the other three years. Tim Bless was over .500 in six of his final seven years there and never went below .500 in that timeframe. Haston won one Conference Indiana title in his four years there. Bless won three in his final four years.

Nevertheless, no matter the coach and no matter the regular season success, it has ended the same way for North for the last 18 years. They just can’t seem to get out of sectionals. Since 2008, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Columbus East, and Jeffersonville have each ended North’s season in sectionals once. Franklin Central has done it three times (including the last two years). Center Grove has done it a whopping 11 times. North has only won four sectional titles in its history and Tim Bless is the only man to lead them to regional titles (he won three - 2004, 2006, and 2007).

North is a strong program overall but they always seem to fall off toward the end of the year. They need a coach who will stick around, develop the talent pool (starting at the elementary level), and work with the middle school coaches. Then, and only then, will they get over the hump. However, in my opinion, I think they need East to get better too. East being good seems to drive them to be good themselves. 

[Titan32]

19 hours ago, jstacy13 said:

It looks like he has a very extensive coaching experience.  This will be his 8th head coaching job, 1 of these he didn't coach a game.  He doesn't stay anywhere too long.  It looks like 2 years is the longest he has stayed anywhere.

2010 - LB Coach - Glenville State University (WV)
2011 - LB Coach - University of South Dakota
2012 - Head Coach - Duval Charter High School (FL) - Dismissed after 0-7 start
2013 - Head Coach - Admiral Farragut Academy (FL)
2015 - Head Coach - Atlantic High School (FL) - Resigned before season - 0 games
2015 - Head Coach - Massautten Military Academy (VA)
2016 - DL Coach - Southern Oregon University
2017 - DC - East High School (GA)
2019 - DC - Willamette University (OR)
2020 - Head Coach - Mount Zion High School (GA)
2023 - Head Coach - Notre Dame High School (OH)
2025 - DC/Interim Head Coach - Manor High School (TX)

[JustRules]

18 hours ago, Frozen Tundra said:

Respectfully, I disagree with this statement. He had one winning season in four years. He was below .500 the other three years. Tim Bless was over .500 in six of his final seven years there and never went below .500 in that timeframe. Haston won one Conference Indiana title in his four years there. Bless won three in his final four years.

Nevertheless, no matter the coach and no matter the regular season success, it has ended the same way for North for the last 18 years. They just can’t seem to get out of sectionals. Since 2008, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Columbus East, and Jeffersonville have each ended North’s season in sectionals once. Franklin Central has done it three times (including the last two years). Center Grove has done it a whopping 11 times. North has only won four sectional titles in its history and Tim Bless is the only man to lead them to regional titles (he won three - 2004, 2006, and 2007).

North is a strong program overall but they always seem to fall off toward the end of the year. They need a coach who will stick around, develop the talent pool (starting at the elementary level), and work with the middle school coaches. Then, and only then, will they get over the hump. However, in my opinion, I think they need East to get better too. East being good seems to drive them to be good themselves. 

You are criticizing him because he lost twice to a MIC school (and one of the best programs in the state) and twice to an HCC school whose coach has won state championships at two other schools? He has also improved their non-conference schedule to push the team and it was working. Last year was going to be a very good year until they ran into injuries. I've seen CN many times over the years, and he did an excellent job. Tim Bless was also an excellent coach. CN has nothing to hang their head about. They are an excellent program. They will probably not be able to compete with the top programs in Indy very often so that is not the best litmus test on their ability.

[Frozen Tundra]

1 hour ago, JustRules said:

You are criticizing him because he lost twice to a MIC school (and one of the best programs in the state) and twice to an HCC school whose coach has won state championships at two other schools? He has also improved their non-conference schedule to push the team and it was working. Last year was going to be a very good year until they ran into injuries. I've seen CN many times over the years, and he did an excellent job. Tim Bless was also an excellent coach. CN has nothing to hang their head about. They are an excellent program. They will probably not be able to compete with the top programs in Indy very often so that is not the best litmus test on their ability.

I’m not criticizing him for losing to Franklin Central and Center Grove. Like I said, even Tim Bless did plenty of that. You said they improved significantly with Haston and I disagreed. I don’t think they were better with Haston than they were with Bless. That’s what I was saying.

[JustRules]

On 6/5/2026 at 8:23 PM, Frozen Tundra said:

I’m not criticizing him for losing to Franklin Central and Center Grove. Like I said, even Tim Bless did plenty of that. You said they improved significantly with Haston and I disagreed. I don’t think they were better with Haston than they were with Bless. That’s what I was saying.

From when he started to when he left, they got much better. I never said they were better than when Bless was there. The last 3 years of Bless, they didn't have the athletes they did earlier in his career. Haston had them much more competitive his second season and an excellent team their third season. They were on pace for another very good season last year until injuries took their toll.

[First_Backer_Inside]

On 6/5/2026 at 10:09 AM, Titan32 said:

Yikes, hope Columbus North knows what they are doing.