David Glover said his phone “blew up” late Thursday morning.

That’s when news started to break that he planned to hire Weatherford’s Reagan Roof as Kingfisher High School’s next head football coach.

The move became official Monday night when Roof’s hiring was approved unanimously by the Kingfisher Board of Education.

“I have not ever hired a person that I’ve received more text messages, phone calls and ‘atta boys’ as I did with this,” Glover told the board in making his recommendation.

Glover opened the position last month and said he received 39 applications.

Joining him on the committee to hire the coach were Athletic Director Jeremy Young, KHS Principal John Harris and Assistant AD Stan Blundell, who is also an assistant football coach.

Glover said the original list of applicants was narrowed down to five for interviews.

Eventually, Roof won out and Glover said he was more than happy to present his name to the board.

“Reagan is not only a football coach - a very successful one - Reagan is a top-notch educator,” Glover said. “I highly recommend this guy.”

A Guthrie High School graduate, Roof spent 15 years at Bethany, including nine as head coach, before making the move to Weatherford in 2017.

His Eagles teams were 49-28, highlighted by the 2019 season in which they went 11-3 and advanced to the Class 4A state title game.

Roof said the decision to move was neither easy nor quick.

“It was an extremely diffi cult decision. I have loved my time at Weatherford,” he said.

“My wife and I prayed a lot over this decision and both believe that this is a great opportunity. We came to the conclusion that this is the path that God wanted us to take. We have always thought that Kingfisher was a great community, with a well respected school system, and tremendous athletic programs.”

Roof and his wife, Lindsay, have two children. Reese, 15, will be a junior next year and River, 12, will be an eighth grader.

Kingfisher’s position opened when a settlement agreement in a civil lawsuit brought against the district by Mason Mecklenburg stipulated Jeff Myers would not be allowed to coach at Kingfisher again.

Roof said he’s aware the program has seen some turbulence the last three years with the lawsuit and coaching changes that began in the fall when Myers was put on administrative leave.

“Turnover in leadership is a stressful time in any organization,” he said. “As I can start building relationships with the players, coaches and faculty, I believe the transition will be more comfortable.”

Myers is Kingfisher’s alltime winningest coach as he went 183-68 in 20 seasons. The Jackets reached the state title game five times and won the 2013 Class 3A state championship.

That foundation, said Roof, will be beneficial for the transition.

“One of the things that make this such a good opportunity is that Kingfisher already has an excellent football program in place,” Roof said.

“I will not have to focus on building a program; I will just be bringing a fresh perspective.

“I will just look for areas that I may be able to improve.”

Roof will spend the next few months getting to know the staff and players before his work here kicks into gear during the summer months.

It’s then he’ll start to make his imprint on the program…and the players.

“I want them to see the big picture,” he said. “Playing football requires a big commitment and dedication but in the end it is a short period in their life.

“I hope playing football helps them to go on to be great husbands, fathers and citizens some day.”