Lawsuit filed over Herbert Hoover football coach selection

CHARLESTON – A teacher at Herbert Hoover High School wants a judge to force the school to interview him for the job of head football coach, even though his father is the school's athletic director.

Steven Stoffel Jr. filed a lawsuit June 1 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the Kanawha County Board of Education.

Stoffel argues that just because his father, Steven Stoffel Sr., is on the interviewing panel for the head coach job, he shouldn't be precluded from applying.

Stoffel says he's the most qualified candidate for the position, having been an assistant football coach for several years.

But when he applied for the job, his application was refused because of the board's nepotism policy. According to the complaint, Stoffel was refused an interview and disqualified.

Stoffel argues that there are reasonable solutions to the problem: such as that the high school's principal could sit in on his interview instead of his father.

The complaint seeks an injunction against the school from moving forward with hiring a coach until the issue is resolved.

Earlier this month, Kanawha County school board members named Tim Meyer -- another former assistant of Steve Stoffel Sr. -- as the new head coach.

Michael Clifford is representing the plaintiff. The case is before Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 09-C-1022