It turns out Adrian Bush will be coaching soccer at Tampa after all.
Two weeks after being passed over for the head-coaching position in favor of his former coach, Tom Fitzgerald, Bush accepted an assistant position.
The move allows Bush, a Hillsborough High graduate, to return to the school he helped to a Division II title in 1994 under Fitzgerald. "This is a great opportunity for me as a coach," Bush said. "I was hurt by the news a couple weeks ago, but I understood the news. I'm looking at the big picture, and this gets me in the door under one of the best coaches in the country."
Bush, who will retain his job as director of coaching at Hillsborough County United Soccer Club, was thought to be the front-runner for the Spartans' head job until Fitzgerald called UT officials to offer a positive recommendation of his former star.
Fitzgerald said that phone call turned into an opportunity for him to return to Tampa, where he began his coaching career, and he resigned as men's coach at UCLA a couple days later.
Former Jesuit and University of Tampa two-sport star Eric Sims will join the staff as goalkeepers coach and Maurice Loregnard, a UT assistant for two years, will remain with the team.
