Less than two weeks before the start of practices the 2008 season and a month before their 2008 opener, West Johnston High School is searching for a new head football coach.

Kwame Dixon, who coached West to its best football season ever in 2007, resigned last Tuesday. Dixon told his players during voluntary workouts Tuesday that he will not be back for his fifth season as head coach.

Eric Pulling, who was scheduled to be the Wildcats' defensive coordinator this season, has been named the team's interim head coach.

"I expect the program to do well," Dixon told The News & Observer last Friday. "We have great kids."

Dixon said his resignation was a personal decision and directed further questions about the change to the West Johnston High administration.

"We are accepting resumes and interest in our head football coaching position," said West Johnston principal Brookie Honeycutt on Tuesday. "We're screening the resumes and scheduling interviews and following the [Johnston County] Board [of Education] procedures for interviewing and selecting a football coach. ...

"We've just initially begun the interviewing process."

"Needless to say, we're in quite a bit of hurry since football season is on the verge of beginning in a couple of weeks," Honeycutt added. "But we are making a concerted effort to find the very best individual we can find."

Dixon, a former collegiate player at Pittsburgh, took over the Wildcats' program after a successful run as head coach at Cambridge (Mass.) School.

Dixon was 11-23 overall as the Wildcats' coach. But West Johnston went 7-5 in 2007, finished second in the Greater Neuse 4-A Conference and made its first playoff appearance.

Editor's Note: Tim Stevens of The News & Observer contributed to this report.