Toby Smith will no longer be leading the Bellefontaine football program.
Athletic director Matt Comstock announced Friday in a press release that Smith has resigned as the school’s head coach.
“After conducting my fall postseason evaluation meeting with Coach Smith and discussing the direction of the BHS football program, I have received a letter of resignation from Coach Smith concerning his position as the head football coach at Bellefontaine High School.
“I appreciate the time and effort that Toby has given to BHS Football and wish him luck as he starts a new chapter.”
Following a very successful 14-year run at West Liberty-Salem, Smith oversaw the Chiefs for the past seven seasons.
While Smith was at BHS, his teams went 46-27. The Chiefs earned two playoff appearances and won four Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division titles, including a stretch of three in a row from 2016-2018.
Smith’s best season came in 2017 when the Chiefs went 10-2 and won a home playoff game for the first time in school history.
This season, Bellefontaine went 6-4. Smith did not coach in wins over Benjamin Logan and Indian Lake because of a disciplinary suspension.
Bellefontaine will immediately begin looking for Smith’s replacement.
“The BHS Athletic Department has already started the process of looking for the next Bellefontaine head football coach,” said Comstock in the release. “This process will be an extensive search (both internally and externally) for the most qualified individual we can find, who also shares the BHS Athletic Department mission of education-based athletics and appreciates the pride and tradition of Bellefontaine Football.”
Applicants will have until Jan. 3 to submit a resume and application. Comstock plans to begin the interview process Jan. 13, with finalists selected for final interviews on Jan. 21. BCS administrators, members of the BHS faculty, current BHS head coaches, current Chieftain football players and parents, a representative of the BHS youth football organization and a representative of the BHS Athletic Boosters will make up the panel to oversee the hiring of the new coach.