Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Former Poland assistant Brian Jones helps the Bulldogs quarterbacks warmup last fall prior to their home contest versus Chaney. Jones was hired as the new head coach at Howland Monday night.

Brian Jones always knew there would come a time when he would jump back into the head coaching ranks.

Jones also knew that he was going to be selective in his search.

Following a 10-year hiatus, Jones believed Howland was a perfect fit. On Monday, the Howland Board of Education agreed, approving the hire of Jones as Howland High’s next football coach.

Jones takes over for Steve Boyle, who in October stepped down following a five-year stint.

This past season, Howland finished 2-8.

“As an assistant, I’ve gone up against Howland a number of times and I’ve always had great admiration for the program,” Jones said. “They always seem to produce the athletes and the big strong kids in the trenches. We’ve all seen in the past what this program could achieve, and I fully believe it still has what it takes to get back to that level in the future.

“The Howland administrators aligned with the program share that same vision. I feel like there’s the proper support which will lead to a bright future.”

Jones, a Liberty High graduate, began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater in 2006. He then spent four years as a graduate assistant at Youngstown State University under John Heacock (three years) and Eric Wolford (one year).

In 2012 Jones returned to Liberty, this time as a head coach. In his one season at the Liberty helm, Jones led the Leopards to a 9-3 finish, which included a playoff win over Streetsboro.

In the previous two seasons prior to Jones’ arrival, the Leopards were 1-19.

However, career opportunities in the classroom forced Jones to step down as coach and pursue other options at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

Jones has since been employed by the Poland School District / Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, leading a career-based intervention program.

Jones served as an assistant on the Poland staff under Mark Brungard and Ryan Williams from 2014-2017. He returned to the Poland sidelines in 2021. For the past two seasons, he served under Tom Pavlansky as the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator/assistant head coach.

“It’s funny, I was 26 years old when I got the Liberty job and I thought I was ready for anything,” Jones said. “That’s laughable now. I’ve been so fortunate to work under so many truly great coaches since I stepped down at Liberty. I’ve learned so much from each one of them. The experiences I’ve had at YSU and Poland, and the people I’ve been around have been invaluable”

Pavlansky believes Jones’ strong rookie season at Liberty wasn’t a fluke. Pavlansky referred to Jones as “a great football coach and an even better person.” He expects Jones to pick up where he left off as a head coach.

“Brian is as prepared as anyone for this opportunity,” Pavlansky said. “He is student-athlete centered, he has great enthusiasm for the game and he has a great football mind.

“When we (Lakeview) went up against Brian in 2012 you could just see that his team was so well prepared and well-coached. He’s only improved as a coach since then. I expect big things from him and from his program.”

Jones noted that his first order of business will be to assemble a staff.

“Surrounding yourself with good people who are in it for the kids is a top priority,” Jones said. “I’ve learned so much over the past ten years about the importance of surrounding yourself with a solid staff.”

Jones, a Cortland resident, said he will maintain his employment with the MCCTC. He is not ruling out a future career move to Howland should a position become available.

“Right now I’m happy in my present role, and I’m just really excited about getting together with our players and working toward a solid 2023 season,” Jones said.