For the second time in four years, Lotief's head football coaching duties are removed

For the second time in four years, Stephen “Tank” Lotief has been let go from his coaching position at Kaplan High School.
On Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Lotief finished up football practice and instructed his players to put on their uniforms since it was picture day in the gym for football.
However, Lotief was not present during picture day.  Instead, he was called into Principal Shay Herpin’s office, joined by assistant superintendent Marc Turner. Herpin informed him that his coaching duties were being removed at KHS. 
Lotief quickly left the campus and did not meet up with his team to share the bad news. By the time he was off campus, most of the football players had already wrapped up their photo sessions and headed out. They had no idea about the news. 
Herpin walked back through the gym and then headed to the field house next to the football stadium to tell the assistant coaches of the news.
Regarding the status of the football program and who the acting head coach will be until a new one is named, Herpin said he planned to meet with assistant coaches on Friday. 
The Meridional reached out to Coach Lotief, but as of Thursday, and Lotief said he would issue a comment at a later date.
This marks the second time Lotief was stripped of his head football coaching duties at Kaplan High.
In March of 2021, then principal Patricia Thibodeaux let Lotief go as the head football coach.  She said in a statement  when Lotief was let go that she wanted the athletic program to go in a “different direction.”
A few months later, Thibodeaux retired from the school system, and assistant principal Shay Herpin was hired as the new principal.
After two years under the head coach Cory Brodie,  Brodie was let go as the head football coach at Kaplan High School.   Lotief was hired to replace Brodie. 
In his first year back last year, the Pirates posted an 8-3 record, including a second-round playoff loss.
Lotief has coached at Kaplan High for 12 years, and he posted a 100-42 record.  His career coaching record in Vermilion Parish is 149-80, making him the winningest public football coach in the parish.