Shuttlesworth and Wills resign as Permian head coaches

Permian has already found its football coach.

But the Ector County Independent School District apparently has only begun a season full of coaching searches.

Lady Panthers' girls basketball coach Jennifer Shuttlesworth and volleyball coach Robert Wills have both resigned their posts as head coaches.

Shuttlesworth and Wills both resigned within the last week, according to Permian principal Roy Garcia.

Shuttlesworth, who led the Lady Panthers to an 8-20 record and a 4-14 district record last season, has been Permian's head coach for the past three years.

Wills led the Lady Panthers to a 15-24 overall record and a 3-15 district mark in his second year as head coach.

Wills declined to comment on the reasons for his resignation Tuesday, and Shuttlesworth did not return multiple phone calls from the Odessa American.

Coupled with athletic officials from the ECISD, Permian is already trying to find replacements for the two coaches.

"We already have the basketball job posted," Garcia said. "And the volleyball job will be posted on the ECISD Web site soon."

Garcia will be a part of a four-man committee - Permian athletic coordinator/head football coach Gary Gaines, ECISD athletic director Leon Fuller and ECISD athletic coordinator Todd Vesely are the others - to find replacements at each position.

The committee hopes to complete the search as quickly as possible, although Garcia cautioned that prospective hires might not be able to start right away.

"We're going to try to go out there, interview some folks and find somebody who can continue to grow the programs we want to see improved," Garcia said.