Mike Dean will be recommended to the Troy City School Board tonight as the new head football coach and athletic director at Charles Henderson High School.

Dean, who served as head coach at Valley High School last season, will be endorsed after school officials sorted through dozens of applications.

Troy City Schools Superintendent Lee Hicks said he and principal Dr. Boyd English interviewed and deliberated on over 70 applicants over a three day period before narrowing the field to three.

“We asked each applicant about their blueprint for success and vision for the program,” Hicks said. “We were impressed with (Dean’s) enthusiasm and passion for the game.”

Dean served as Valley’s head coach last season after heading the program at McGill-Toolen for two seasons (2009-10).

In four seasons as a head coach Dean is 32-15 including a 3-4 mark in the postseason.

In 2008, Dean led Daleville to the third round of the AHSAA playoffs before falling to T.R. Miller, 21-20.

Dean also spent the better part of 10 years as an assistant at Fairhope, Shades Valley, Theodore and McGill-Toolen.

If approved, Dean would replace Hugh Fountain, who retired from the position last month after 16 seasons with the Trojans. Fountain accepted the head coaching position at Escambia Academy on Jan. 19.

Dean, if hired, would take over a Charles Henderson program making the transition to Class 4A. The Trojans spent 27 in the 5A classification and enjoyed its most successful stretch from 2000-09 when the Trojans posted a 75-35 mark. In 2007, the Trojans finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record but were ousted in the third round.

“We feel good about the energy that (Dean) brings,” Hicks said. “He will provide a needed spark to the program.”

Hicks said if approved Dean could begin as early as his schedule allows.