'A whirlwind': Stillwater football coach Tucker Barnard to return to Shiloh Christian

Jul. 5—Tucker Barnard was in the middle of a three-hour drive with his family when the youngest of his three sons, Charlie, filled the somber, opportunistic air with much-needed clarity. Stillwater High's football coach had already done his fair share of crying during the days leading up to then.

So had everyone else.

So was everyone else.

"We were kind of laughing at ourselves over crying, and Charlie busted out some wisdom," Barnard told News Press on Wednesday morning. "He said, 'We're not crying because we're going to Shiloh, we're crying because we're leaving Stillwater.'

"I've kind of latched onto that a little bit."

Roughly an hour prior to recollecting that moment, Barnard met with this fall's team at Stillwater to share he was returning to Shiloh Christian (Arkansas), where he previously served as a coordinator, in a move that effectively puts the punctuation on a storied 12 years with the Pioneers.

He'll depart Stillwater with an overall record of 93-43, including 55-6 over the past five seasons. Barnard led the Pioneers to an undefeated, title-winning campaign in 2022, marking the program's first state title since 1967.

"It's been a whirlwind, for sure," Barnard said. "It's been a crazy week. I'm gonna miss my time here greatly. ... I've had more fun than I could've ever imagined."

Stillwater athletic director Brian Warwick told the News Press the school hopes to have the position listed by the end of the week and filled as soon as possible. Chad Cawood, the Pioneers' offensive coordinator under Barnard, has been named the interim head coach.

The position at Shiloh opened when Jeff Conaway, who served as both the football coach and athletic director, announced his resignation via social media on June 12. Barnard has known of the possible opportunity for a couple of weeks, but he said he didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it.

Watching from afar, he figured he had an idea of Shiloh's leading candidate. It turned out to be him, though. He interviewed last Thursday, was offered the job on Sunday and accepted on Monday, when he and his family made the trip from Stillwater to Springdale, Arkansas.

"When I learned there was an interest — they had an interest in me and the types of things that they're trying to do and the things they were able to offer to me and my family — it was just an opportunity we couldn't afford to miss," Barnard said.

The same opportunity arose almost a decade ago. But Barnard didn't want much to do with it then, even if it meant returning to the place where he won four state titles in seven years as a coordinator.

Conaway was hired at Shiloh in 2014, and Barnard, then less than a handful of years removed from playing such a large part in the Saints' successes, was a prime candidate. He couldn't leave Stillwater. Not yet, anyway.

"I felt like we hadn't done what we had set out to do. There was too much work left on the table," Barnard said. "Today, as sad as I am to leave, I'm proud of what we're leaving. I'm proud of where the program is. I'm proud of where the program's going. I think the trajectory is still upwards."

If there's anything that makes this type of life-changing move any easier, Barnard said, it's what he and the Pioneers were able to do this past fall — a culmination of what they've built toward since he was hired in January 2011.

Under Barnard, Stillwater made it to three title games (2018, 2019, 2022), won five district titles and won another seven conference titles. The Pioneers were purely dominant in 2022, completing the rarity of an undefeated season by capturing the Class 6A-II title for Stillwater's first Gold Ball in 55 years.

"I don't know if I could've left any other way," Barnard said. "I told the guys today that I stood in front of the team 12 years ago and promised that we were gonna — and no disrespect to anybody — that we were gonna restore Pioneer Pride, that we were gonna compete for championships and win them. I don't know if I could've left without fulfilling that."

Through it all, everything he and Stillwater have been able to accomplish, Barnard wants it to be known that he couldn't have done any of it without those around him. Players. Coaches. Parents. None of it would've happened without them, he said.

It was always going to take a lot to lure Barnard away from Stillwater. That's where he established himself as one of the top coaches in Oklahoma — and established the Pioneers as a perennial powerhouse.

But if there's anywhere that could have, it's Springdale. And it has.

Barnard was born in Fairfax and graduated from Oklahoma State in 1998. He spent four years at Arkansas Baptist High School — one as a coordinator and three as the head coach — before making his way to Springdale. That's somewhere he's always considered home, though.

On Monday, he'll kick off summer workouts at Shiloh and become reacquainted with the place that initially molded him into the person he is today, the person the Pioneers have enjoyed over the past 12 years and the person who's forever ingrained into the fabric of Stillwater.

"I can't tell you how much growth I had in the seven years that I was (in Springdale). I'm so excited to get my kids into that school and in that church," Barnard said. "I know the heart of those people there and the instruction and leadership and wisdom that's gonna be passed down to my kids. You can't put a price tag on that."

Follow News Press sports reporter Jon Walker on Twitter @ByJonWalker for updates on Stillwater High athletics and more.