Rich Wright has resigned as Southern Local head football coach and high school principal. (The Review/Ron Firth)

SALINEVILLE — Right after the Southern Local board of education voted Tuesday night to suspend Rich Wright without pay pending an investigation, he resigned as head football coach and high school principal.

“We were not expecting what happened the last couple of weeks to happen,” Southern superintendent Tom Cunningham said.

Cunningham said there were “irreconcilable differences,” but would not go into specifics based on legal advice. The board approved a resignation agreement with Wright, which Cunningham said can’t be made public at this time. The board had given Wright a three-year contract extension on Feb. 11.

Cunningham said the district will continue the investigation, but police are not involved.

Wright has been the head football coach at Southern the last 10 years, leading the Indians to seven straight playoff appearances.

With the season starting in six weeks, assistant Zack Almy has been named interim head coach.

“As far as I know, all of our staff is staying,” Cunningham said.

He said the head coaching job is a union position and will be posted in-house until July 17. He hopes to have a recommendation by this time next week and will schedule a special board meeting. He had not received any applications through Friday.

The Indians will open the football season at Toronto on Aug. 22.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Jess Krulik was named high school principal after being the assistant principal the last two years.

“That was already in the works,” Cunningham said. “Rich has been high school principal and we are looking to expand the online school. He was going to be leading that.”

Elementary assistant principal Jordan Wrask was named the middle school principal, while the district now has an opening for someone to direct the online school.

Wright led the Southern football team to a 68-39 record as head coach. The Indians made the state playoffs seven years in a row, getting three playoff victories.

“Rich has done some great things for the program in the last 10 years,” Cunningham said.

This past season the Indians went 6-5, including losses to five teams that had a combined 43 victories. He was planning to coach the Indians this fall.

Wright has a career record of 167-110 — a 60.3 winning percentage — in 26 seasons as a head coach.

He was 16-7 with two playoff appearances at Wellsville from 2013-14 and 83-66 with six playoff appearances at Beaver Local from 1998-2011.