'Excited for him': Harry Wright set to come on board as new Bartlesvillle football coach

It appears the Wright man might be the right new fit for the Bartlesville High School football program.

Bartlesville Public Schools approved on Monday the hiring of Harry Wright as the Bruins’ new head coach.

Wright — who also interviewed three years ago for the opening — takes the reins of a Bartlesville varsity team that has posted an 8-23 record the past three seasons and hasn’t experienced a winning season since 2015.

Wright sharpened his head coaching skills the past three seasons at Lonoke High School in Lonoke, Ark. His team romped to 21 wins, the 2019 4A-2 conference championship and the 2020 4A=2 conference runner-up.

Wright has strong Oklahoma roots. He earned two-time NAIA All-American offensive lineman honors during his playing days at Bacone College.

His wife Lauren is a Copan High graduate; they have a nine-year-old son named Evan.

More than 50 applicants sought the Bruin job, which became open in December after three-year had coach Jason Sport resigned.

The hiring committee of 10 people selected Wright as one of two finalists.

“He had some real intensity in his interview,” BPS Athletic/Activities Director Thad Dilbeck said. “He was someone who seemed like a good communicator.”

His experience as a successful college player and his experience as a high school coach, including the last three years as a head skipper, also were strong assets in his favor.

High school football: Bartlesville High head football coach opening attracts heavy interest

He applied three years ago for the Bartlesville opening after Lee Blankenship resigned, with Sport getting the job.

“He’s always liked Bartlesville and liked the community,” Dilbeck said about Wright, noting the family has a set of grandparents living in the area.

“We’re excited for him to be coming,” Dilbeck said.

Wright is slated to be on job next week.

Dilbeck’s vision of the Bruin football team is to be successful on Friday nights.

“I want us to be a winning program,” he said. “We want to build a culture and expectation that we’re going to win. We want to help start Coach Wright establish a culture, not only with the varsity but with the sub-varsity and youth football leagues.”

The cupboard, as far as potential, is far from bare for Wright, although the team remains very young. Several freshmen or sophomores got starting experience or major reps last season.

“We’ve got a good group of kids coming back,” Dilbeck said.

One of Wright’s first tasks will be to organize his coaching staff.

He plans to meet with the current assistant coaches and get to know them and their strengths, Dilbeck said.

“If he needs to fill some holes, he’s got some guys he can bring in,” he added.

Leading the search for the new head football coach is the third time in less than a year

Dilbeck has been faced with filling a major head coach vacancy at Bartlesville.

“It’s kind of like being a kid in a candy shop. … It’s always very interesting,” he said.

One challenge Wright won’t have to face is playing Bixby High, the Class 6A-II dominant team the past several years. Bixby has been moved up to Class 6A-I for the next two seasons.

Bartlesville will have two different teams in district the next two years.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: High school football: Harry Wright named Bartlesville's new head coach