Loyd has played and coached at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, winning over 200 games as a head coach. Nearly 50 of those games were at NEO, where Loyd won a national title and finished national runner-up twice during a five-year tenure.

“When someone like him applies, you instantly get excited,” Grove athletic director Will Jones said. “We had a lot of great applicants; five of them really stood out as guys that would fit in here. But when you look at Coach Loyd’s background, and you see the experiences that he has had as a player and a coach, I was excited for our kids to have that experience rub off on them.”

The 58-year-old Loyd has also been a head coach at Tulsa Memorial, McAlester and Ardmore, amassing 13 playoff appearances, four semifinal games and over 163 wins. He has spent the past five seasons at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he was the first head coach in that program’s history, guiding the Sharks to 28 wins, two playoff appearances and two district titles.

A 1974 graduate of Joplin Memorial High School, Loyd played quarterback collegiately at the University of Tulsa and the University of Kansas before spending time in the National Football League with the St. Louis Cardinals under former Oklahoma head coach Bud Wilkinson. Loyd also spent several seasons in the Canadian Football League and the USFL.

“It’s like home for us,” Loyd said of the Grand Lake area. “We’re very familiar with the area. My mom has a lot of family in the Wolf Creek area and of course I was coach at NEO.”

The Grove school district received 25 applications for the head coaching position. Jones interviewed 11 of the applicants over a 12-day period, spending nearly 30 hours on the task.

“He’s a home run hire from my point of view,” Jones said. “I thought it was important that the new coach take spring football seriously, and to do things in the summer like 7-on-7 and to give our kids the best opportunity to develop to the highest of their abilities.

“I think his experiences are huge for our kids,” Jones said. “But the other thing I like about Coach Loyd is that, yes, he played football for Coach Wilkinson and yes, he worked with Doug Williams and Warren Moon, but he doesn’t rest on his laurels and say ‘I know it all now.’ He continues to grow as a coach and is looking for ways to evolve and that excites me as well.”

Loyd did not attend Thursday’s board meeting but is expected to arrive in Grove in early May prior to the spring practice period.

“You build a team in the off-season,” Loyd said. “I’m a big believer in that. You have to invest the time and energy in the program. Things like 7-on-7 during the summer – it’s non-contact but good for installation, a good learning opportunity.

“Grove is a great football community with a lot of tradition. They have good athletes. Hopefully, we’ll have some improvements in the facilities.”