article_snippet: And maybe Cecil Smith should know.
article_snippet: And if Cecil Smith's experience is any guide, it will take "a lot of prayer and a little goading" to convince someone to step into the job vacated this week by Chief Thomas Jackson.
article_snippet: The decision for Chief Thomas Jackson to step aside was a mutual one between the chief and city, Mayor James Knowles told reporters.
article_snippet: Mayor James Knowles'll get severance and a year of health insurance and will turn the reins over to a white Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson police Lt.
article_snippet: Col Al Eickhoff next week.
article_snippet: city will launch a nationwide search for a permanent replacement, Mayor James Knowles said.
article_snippet: To get there, it might look to Sanford for guidance.
article_snippet: Chief Jackson will likely need to do some of the same things, Smith says.
highlights_snippet: Ferguson might look to Sanford, Florida's experience when choosing a new chief .
  