With only 2 1/2 months to go before the start of preseason, four area schools are scrambling to fill football coaching vacancies.

Brewer, Orono, Stearns of Millinocket, and Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield are all looking to hire a new coach before the end of the month.

“I’ve put the word out we’re looking for someone,” said Stearns athletic director Don Dow. “I’d like to have somebody named as soon as possible. Early, early July at the latest and much, much earlier if possible.”

Dow and other school officials have the unenviable task of replacing Art Greenlaw, the dean of LTC football coaches with 18 years of head coaching service.

Greenlaw, who has coached the Minutemen to state championships in 1982, ’84, ’87 and ’95 and state runners-up in 1986, intends to step down three years after being lured back from football retirement.

“I have mixed emotions about it,” Greenlaw said. “But I think the reality is we have an opportunity to combine an open phys ed job with a new head football coach and I’ve been involved in high school sports for the better part of 25 years. I just feel very good about giving someone else the opportunity.”

Although the high school physical education teaching position is open following Tom Cyr’s retirement, Dow said that doesn’t mean the new coach will automatically take a teaching position.

“What we have a tradition of doing is interviewing someone for the teaching job first and then filling the coaching job,” he said. “It’s not necessarily a package deal.”

The 50-year-old Greenlaw started thinking about stepping down last year when a science-phys ed job opened up. He decided he would resign if a suitable candidate could be found for both jobs.

“This is the same type of thing this year. It just depends whether we can find the right candidate to fill both jobs,” he explained. “My sense is we’ll need to make that decision in the next two weeks.”

A member of Greenlaw’s staff is interested in the job, but Greenlaw didn’t want to single him out yet.

“If he applied, I would have no trouble stepping aside, and I really believe the job needs to be filled by someone in-house or at least in the school system,” he said.

Greenlaw has no plans to quit his job as Millinocket Middle School principal, a post he has held since 1991. In fact, his job is one of the reasons he may step aside.

“It’s a combination of factors. We’re closing our building and moving to the high school – so that will keep us busy,” he said. “And we do have this opportunity with the teaching job I hope will attract someone with experience to us, and I have a son [Adam] who plays college football [at Bates] and I’d like to see them play.”

Greenlaw also wants to watch former players Travis Cummings, who’s going to Bowdoin, and Josh Howes, Adam Greenlaw’s roommate and a wide receiver at Bates.

Even if Greenlaw steps down, he doesn’t expect to take a total break from football. When he took a four-year hiatus (1991-95), he stayed on as Dave Evans’ assistant.

“Who knows what the future holds?” he said. “I still enjoy the game, I enjoy the practices, I even enjoy double sessions – as long as I don’t have to do the running!”

At MCI, athletic director Julie Treadwell said the school’s search to replace Bob LeCours, who resigned to take the same job atSkowhegan, has yet to reach the interview stage.

“We’re going through applicants right now and we’ve left the date open as far as an application deadline,” Treadwell explained. “I’d like to have the position filled before the end of June at the very latest.”

The next step is creating an interview committee made up of Treadwell, a faculty representative, a member of the coaching staff, and at least one student.

Treadwell said the job could be part of a dual hire since MCI has four teaching positions open in science and humanities. Treadwell is also looking for a new varsity girls basketball coach to replace Rick Hodges, who resigned after five seasons on the staff, the last three as head coach.

“We’ll go through those warranting interviews and then interview the picks of the applicants. Probably by next week we’ll pick some people to interview for both positions,” she said.

Brewer High School officials decided to go back to the original pool of applicants to replace Don Farnham – who resigned to devote more time to his family business, Getchell Brothers Inc. – in the wake of Foxcroft Academy coach Paul Withee’s decision to turn down the Brewer job, change his mind, and then turn it down again.

School superintendent Allan Snell said he wants to have a new coach named “ASAP” but expects the process to take at least a couple of weeks.

“We’re just now getting into the interview process,” said Snell Friday.

Since the next school board meeting won’t be held until July, there is no extra pressure to name a finalist quickly, although Snell hopes the process won’t last too long.

One option for Brewer might be to fill the position on an interim basis and re-open the coaching search again next year.

The Orono job is still open three months after interim coach Tim McCluskey decided not to be back for a second season and turn his full attention to his family and finishing up a master’s degree.

“We’re still interviewing people and we haven’t hired anyone yet,” said acting athletic director Bob Lucy, who McCluskey replaced as coach. “We’ll keep interviewing people and see how it goes.”

Lucy said there is no firm deadline in place for applications, although he would like to name a new coach as soon as possible.

“At this point in time, we’re just trying to do a thorough job and we’d like to find the best person we can,” Lucy said. “If somebody is still interested [and hasn’t applied], we’d interview someone for it.”