Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9005310048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Cannaday, 57, a Roanoke native, has not accepted a new job, but he is moving back to the Roanoke Valley. Cannaday and his wife, Gretchen, are making the change so that they can care for his ailing mother.
"I'm coming to Roanoke to be closer to my mother," said Cannaday, who coached the Bengals for six years. "I haven't accepted any other job, but I have had some discussions with other [school] systems."
Cannaday informed his team Wednesday of his resignation.
"I told the team it was a decision I just had to make," he said. "You can put it off as long as you want to, but you just have to make it.
"This has nothing to do with the coaching position. I consider this one of the greatest coaching spots in Virginia. I'll miss our friends. It was an excellent place to work."
If Cannaday lands a coaching job in the Roanoke area, it would likely be as an assistant. Patrick Henry might have an opening for an assistant coach on Ed Scott's staff, and the staff of new coach Melvin Martin at Franklin County might not yet be settled.
Cannaday had a 32-28-1 (23-12-1 in the Piedmont) record at Bassett, but his 1989 team was his most successful. The Bengals went 10-1 and won the Piedmont District championship.
Cannaday is a former star at old Jefferson High and Virginia Tech. He was a finalist for the Franklin County job, which was filled two weeks ago by Martin. He also had discussions with Roanoke Catholic concerning that school's football vacancy. Those negotiations broke off 10 days ago.
Cannaday didn't get into high school coaching until 11 years ago. At the age of 46, he gave up a career in architecture to become an assistant at Greensville County in Emporia.
"I had thought about doing it for two or three years," he said a few years ago. "I had been in architecture from 1959 to 1979, but the profession had changed. I wasn't as happy as I was when I first got into it."
After a year in which Greensville went 0-10, Cannaday was appointed head coach. Greensville went 8-2 the next season and won the Southside District title. That year, the Eagles beat Southampton, ending what was the state's longest winning streak at 58 games.
Cannaday said returning to a career in architecture in Roanoke is not an alternative. "I have been offered a job in that and I don't want it," he said.
by CNB