**BRYANT OUT AT BRIDGE CITY**

[Bobcatfan4life]

Rumors swirl around BC baseball

Gabriel Pruett

The Orange Leader

Rumors continue to swirl almost on a daily basis surrounding the job status of Bridge City baseball coach Billy Bryant.

The word has been Bryant will soon be reassigned by the Bridge City Independent School District after five years in the dugout.

BCISD Jamey Harrison on Tuesday assured this reporter Bryant has not been reassigned and acknowledged each coach is discussed after each year to be put in a better position to serve the athletes.

“There are always rumors,†Harrison said on Tuesday. “It is amazing what goes around."

Still, the rumors beat on throughout the week, leading to numerous phone calls and tracking down leads to practically nobody wanting to go on record with what has been said.

The only truths lie in what Bryant has accomplished while at Bridge City.

Bryant has delivered a 151-32 record (.825 winning percentage) with Bridge City, his alma mater, in his five years at the helm. Over the last four seasons is when most of the success has come.

Bryant was 72-42 at Buna and took the Cougars to the State Tournament as well, giving him an overall 223-74 mark.

Long playoff runs have been the theme for his Cardinals, as Bridge City relished in the fact of going to back-to-back state tournaments, then a trip to the regional finals the next season and this season a young Cardinals’ squad reached the regional quarterfinals. Bridge City also won the District 21-3A championship with a 13-1 record.

Should Bryant be reassigned in the near future, and the rumors end up being true, his departure would not be over a lack of performance.

The rumors usually fall on what seems to be minor differences with others within BCISD along the way.

Bryant has also been silent on the issue, stating he would wait to comment on the situation when school officials make an official announcement about his status.

Bryant, when questioned, did not confirm or deny the rumors which seem to be turning into the worst kept secret in the Southeast Texas sports scene.

The only fact which will remain true is rumors will continue to fly around, while both a coach and a community await a decision some think has already have been made.

To me, his record speaks for itself.

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[Guest Kelly Football]

Bryant has delivered a 151-32 record  Are you FREAKING kidding me??????? What's wrong with those people at BC?

[j_dog]

If BC actually runs him off, there will be a long line of schools in line to hire him.

You know, the way to stop losing playoff games is to get such a sorry coach that the possibility of losing playoff games will not exist.

(if losing playoff games has anything to do with this rumor.)

[24 over par]

bc dont be completely stupid

[DP#1FAN]

UNREAL!    Considering BC it does not surprise me.

[Guest BC boy 17]

UNREAL!    Considering BC it does not surprise me.

This thread has had too many responses including the original post. Very tacky to see folks with these kind of responses about something they know absolutely nothing about. I thought the "moderators" should be setting a good example for the rest. 

This thread should be be closed, locked and deleted.

[DP#1FAN]

This article was in the Orangeleader so I guess I should not talk about it. Heaven for bid someone say anything about BC!!!!!!!!!! Time will tell. We will see in the next few weeks if this is "uneducated". I hope it is not true because Billy is one of the better baseball coaches in the state. You can't win the state championship every year! I didn't know peoples opinions were "uneducated".

[football]

.750 career winning percentage!!! Are you kidding me!! 

[BUNA95]

BC needs to wake up

[Red1]

Judging by the responses, a lot of people don't KNOW the person and are going by the W/L record.  That is not the only reason to have/keep a coach.  I don't know if he stays or goes, that decision is made by someone else that KNOWS both the person and the W/L record.

But to jump on people from BC because of possible personnel change, you people........mods included need to grow up.

If he is on the bricks, BC baseball will continue to thrive.....its the kids that determine its success and they come into the high school with a very good background in baseball thanks to the programs in place.

I won't comment on this matter anymore, its not really fair to the person or the situation until it is resolved.    

[cardinal81o7]

anytime this topic comes up the mods are always quick to delte posts and lock the stupid thing down because no one wants to step on any toes. i understand you dont want people just ripping into coaches on the internet.

BUT

come one it is a real issue and is worthy of discussion, and i can tell you the win loss record probably has nothing to do w/ this.  and i can also tell you that bc's win percentage wont take that much of a dent if there is a coach change, does anyone know the schools win percentage for our history? prob wont be below .650, its bridge city a town that breeds baseball players

[Guest OFballer]

Surely it's not W/L's (reg. season or playoff) because the guy can flat out coach and the results speak for themselves. So enlighten us on what the real issue is. Did he not play little johnny enough or is it a power play? IMHO I don't see Coach Bryant going anywhere. If this is true, then it is a sad day in Bridge City and in this era of highschool sports.

[Guest Bulldog]

I don't think it has anything to do with baseball (from what ive heard)........ :-\

[RoundRock89]

Is this being overblown and in fact just a rumor?  I don't understand it and believe there must be more to the story (if there really is one).... I'm an outsider but will give 2 cents worth:

This reminds me of the Yankees letting Joe Torre go because his team couldn't beat the Red Sox. If BC is looking at making a change due to the playoff losses, I think it would be a mistake.... Sure, the coach makes critical decisions at critical times, but the game is played on the field between the players.  Not sure Coach Bryant had any impact on the playoff loss this year?

Bridge City has a great team/program with great players.  A very strong starting/ace pitcher will be back the next 2 years along with other standouts.  BC will make the playoffs next year, and guess what, the same thing may happen again.  Even if you change coaches.   

[Guest Cardinal]

It's ashame, but no Coach Bryant will not be the coach next year.

[ALLABOUTSTATE4BC09]

I didnt know the Orange Leader had THIS much power?? if it was another school like LC-M in this situation would they do the same?? It's not any of our business how things go on in BCISD..But I do think its time for someone else to have a shot at coaching BC Baseball..Coach Bryant has did a good job but BC needs some change

[Guest Luv Ya Blue]

Why in the hell do ya'll want a coaching change with this kind of record..151-32.....Better watch what you wish for.

[ALLABOUTSTATE4BC09]

BC  is going to be good every eyar no matter whos the coach

[Guest LCM Volleyball]

Just wait and see! 

[Guest Bulldog]

It's Official Coach Bryant will not return as Head Coach of the Cardinals........

[KFDM COOP]

Story coming soon!

[ALLABOUTSTATE4BC09]

How's it official? Im pretty sure he won't be here next year but what's the story on it being official?

[Guest Bulldog]

I was just informed that he was re-assigned today.....

[Cardinal Supporter]

People have seemed to be on coach Bryants back for the last two or three years. I don't know the man personally but his record may be the best in the area. I don't know. I remember last year when the team was eliminated by a very good Jasper team he got blamed and some were calling for his head. This year the team was again eliminated by a good Jasper team. Perhaps if the series had gone three games BC may have won it. However, the loss in no way was coach Bryants fault. Parson's from Jasper had perhaps his best outing of the year. I was at the game and he kept the batters off balance so much that sometimes they swung at balls and missed badly. Parsons was the reason why BC lost, not anything that coach Bryant did or did not do. I have heard that the man has a bad personality or no personality. Well he sure can coach baseball. I know that a previous coach was very liked by BC fans, myself included. Some fans even want to name the stadium after him. To me that was a slap in the face to coach Bryant for the good job he did with the baseball program. My opinion only. I'm not saying that coach Young does not deserve to be honored. I believe that coach Bryants winning percentage may be the best in the schools history. I'm not sure. There must be some other reason anybody would want to replace him other than "We just don't like him". Don't believe for a minute that another coach can continue the winning tradition that BC has seen over the last few years. That doesn't mean that the program would suffer either. We just can't look in to the future like that. We do have good baseball talent in BC but as in any sport it needs to be handled right for the program to succeed. If I had a vote in the matter I would vote to keep the coach but I do not know why his job is being questioned. Just my opinion!

[shadow1]

Lesson learned:

If your not political you lose. If you choose to play the best players instead of the political players, you lose.