BRYANT, Ark. — It didn't take long for Bryant to find its next head football coach.
And that's because the next man at the helm has been in the Hornets' locker room for the past five seasons.
On Wednesday, the Bryant School Board unanimously approved hiring Quad Sanders as its next head coach. Sanders joined the Hornets in 2018 as a defensive coordinator and helped Bryant win five Class 7A state championships before accepting a head coach position at 7A-Central Jonesboro in March.
Sanders won the Broyles Award in 2022 as Arkansas's top assistant high school coach.
"We are so happy to have Coach Sanders come home to lead our football program," Bryant Superintendent Karen Walters said.
The decision was made at a special called board meeting and comes a little over 24 hours after former coach Buck James announced he was stepping down to become the head football coach at 7A-Central Conway.
Bryant's incoming athletic director Kirk Brock reached out to Sanders after learning of James' resignation.
"Coach Sanders is respected and loved by both players and coaches," Brock said. "As a colleague of Coach Sanders for the past five years, I can attest to the strong work ethic he will bring to the position and the program."
Prior to his time at Bryant, Sanders was an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, McPherson College in Kansas and Western Colorado University.
Sanders also played football and basketball at the University of Central Arkansas and was later a graduate assistant with the football team.
Bryant is riding a 53-game in-state winning streak, with its last loss to an Arkansas team dating back to 2017 against North Little Rock.
Jonesboro is now in need of a head football coach.