Charleston Daily Mail, Thursday March 12, 2009

Gobel named Nitro's football coach

by From staff reports

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Kanawha County Board of Education members approved the hiring of Bob Gobel as Nitro High School's football coach Thursday.

"It's just a perfect fit for me," Gobel said. "It's a great opportunity for me because I have been involved in the community for about 10 years now being a teacher at Cross Lanes Elementary School and also coaching for two years at Andrew Jackson Middle School. I already know a lot of the kids on the team and a lot of the parents in the community. So, that will make the transition smoother."

Gobel, 53, replaces John Sowards, who resigned in December after the Wildcats finished 3-7 in his first season.

Gobel spent the past few seasons coaching the offensive and defensive lines at Hurricane High School.

Gobel twice was the head coach at West Virginia Tech.

His first stint with the Golden Bears was a one-year stay in 1989, when they were 7-3-1. WVU Tech won the West Virginia Conference title to earn a NAIA playoff berth that season.

His second stint with the Golden Bears didn't go so well. They were 1-39 from 1992-95 and lost 36 consecutive games during that stretch.

In between, Gobel was 10-10 in two seasons (1990-91) at West Virginia State.

His coaching career also included stints at Sissonville and Van high schools as well as Salem College.