February 22, 2024 • 41 mins
Join us in this episode of Demand Excellence where we converse with a successful high school football coach, Mike Coe. Embark on a journey as Coach Coe recounts his journey from Florida to Coffey County, sharing his stories of triumph, struggle, and perseverance that led to multiple state championships.
Gain important insights into his coaching philosophy as Coach Coe discusses the hardships and resistance he encountered throughout his career. Listen to his account of how he overcame obstacles to shine even in the least promising conditions, as was the case at Madison, and glean insights on his approach to coaching and its impact on his players' lives.
Learn about the significance of relationship-building in Coach Coe's coaching methods as he dives deep into his experiences at Madison County. The episode offers valuable life lessons, making it a must-listen for sports enthusiasts and those interested in stories of human resilience.
Get inspired as Coach Coe delves into his growth journey, exploring his failures, lessons learnt and victories achieved. Become part of this inspiring conversation on the next episode of Demand Excellence.
A High School Football Coach's Impact: Beyond the GameImmerse yourself in an enlightening discussion with a high school football coach who uses sports as a platform for mentoring and installing character in his students. Understand how he prioritizes relationships and respect for time and contributions, and how these values translate into success on and off the field.
Follow his journey from Madison County to Coffee County and discover how his ideologies impacted his community as he reveals his philosophies and the experiences that shaped them. Learn from his growth story as he discusses his continual learning adventures, detailing a trip to Bixby, Oklahoma to learn from a successful school's football program.
Gain deep insights as he stresses the importance of cultivating unity within the community and the significant role of a high school coach beyond just sports coaching. This episode is a comprehensive insight into the life and influence of a high school football coach.
The Personal Touch: A Football Coach’s InfluenceDive into an emotional episode where a high school football coach shares his journey and influence on his players' lives. Understand how his life experiences, family and faith have shaped his philosophy towards coaching and life in general.
Explore the genuine ambition of a coach who strives to be more than just a trainer to his players. Listen as he discusses his efforts to instill values beyond the game and nurture his players into good citizens, responsible individuals, and future leaders.
This poignant episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer and is a powerful testament to the far-reaching impacts of coaching beyond the sports field. Get inspired by this exceptional journey on the next episode of Demand Excellence.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
All right, everybody, I am back for another episode of Demand Excellence,
and today I have a special guest, Coach Coe from Coffey County,
won the state championship there, 5A state championship, super successful coach.
He was in Florida for 12 season where he went 135 and 26, won four state championships.
(00:20):
Then he comes up to Coffey County in 2022 and wins the state state championship in 2023.
So coach, my first question for you is you kind of left us with a cliffhanger
there at the end of the state championship when you were up on the podium and
you said everybody told you that you couldn't win at coffee.
Talk to us about that. It's got to be a special feeling that you did what a
(00:44):
lot of people thought you couldn't do.
Yeah, you know, at Madison, we had really good players.
So you had some people, you know, coaches specifically specifically around there
that, you know, well, anybody can win at Madison.
And they've had, you know, Coach McPherson was there, and he won a state championship
there. And then Coach Carroll, you know, I was on his staff in 07 when we won one.
(01:05):
But Madison is a, you know, it's a low socioeconomic place.
A lot of the kids there don't have dads in their lives. And we took great pride
in, you know, not only winning, but winning in life with those kids.
And almost 100% of our kids graduated from high school.
And we really poured our heart and soul into that place. I was there for 19 years.
(01:28):
And, you know, it was a smaller school. So you come to a bigger school in Georgia
and you hear the whispers, you know, that it's not going to be as easy as it
was in Madison and all this and that. And it's never easy.
You know, I don't care what class you're playing in.
When you get to the semifinals and the finals, there's good people waiting on
(01:49):
you You had really good coaches and good programs and good players across from you.
I've never really focused on winning a state title, honestly.
We just try to be, and it sounds cliche, but we just try to be the absolute best we can be that day.
Whatever we're doing that day, let's knock it out. Let's not have any regrets.
(02:10):
Let's push ourselves to the max. And these kids have bought in,
and I'm really, really fortunate. Dr.
Lease, our superintendent, and Mr. Van Allen, our principal,
have really supported us, and I've got great coaches on staff.
Every coach I have, 9 through 12, works in our school system.
There's no community coaches on nine through 12, you know, and then middle school,
(02:33):
we've got quite a few that work in the building too.
And I think that matters. I think that's a huge difference.
You know, at Madison, I was lucky to have three or four in the building.
And then you, I went and got former players that played for us that I trusted
that, you know, worked in the community and they come when they got off work
and stuff like that. But here, man, it's just totally different.
I mean, you've got guys that's been doing it for a long time.
(02:56):
Time the guys that i kept off coach pruitt's staff you talk about ultra professional
guys that get it that work hard you know there's zero egos i've got i think
seven former head coaches on this staff,
and that's really helpful to me because they see the big picture they try to
keep stuff off of my desk you know uh coach bo johnson i mean he was the head
(03:18):
coach at blundstown actually played against him twice in state championship
games he runs our equipment room i mean that's the worst job job in sports,
you know, and he, he does it with great pride and our kids love him.
And, you know, I've just got a bunch of men like that on our staff and,
and they come in here and the first thing they did is start loving on these kids.
(03:38):
And, and we, after that first season, I knew we had to get a lot faster.
We did. We're going to be strong enough. Coach Booth does a great job in the
weight room, but we weren't near fast enough.
So we put an emphasis on speed last off season. and the kids bought in and,
you know, we practice really, really fast.
We, we play with tempo and our kids know we're not going to be out there for
three hours, you know, we're going to hit it and get it and get our work done.
(04:01):
And we have a lot of fun with our kids, you know, we're, we have them over at
our house and feed them and we do a lot of things off the field with them.
Cause we want to, you know, when I, when I die, I'm not going to get asked about
state championship rings at all.
You know, that's none of that's going with me, but I will get asked about how
I treated these kids and where I led them to and how I tried to lead them and
(04:24):
things like that. And those are the most important things.
You know as well as I do, you're not going to win a state championship every year.
And so if that's the reason you're in it, man, you're going to be disappointed
big time, almost 100% of the time.
But to see kids mature and change and become good dads and husbands and citizens,
man, that's what it's all about.
(04:46):
Absolutely. Well, Coach, one of the things going on, you know,
on ESPN, especially after the Super Bowl and all these talking heads,
you know, they're all kind of knocking Kyle Shanahan saying,
you know, he can't win the big game.
And you can't win the Super Bowl, and they're just – he's only 44 years old
or 45, and just, you know, and so I think your story is cool because when I
(05:09):
was reading up about you, you know, you were at Madison County for 12 seasons, super successful,
but you didn't just start winning state championships.
You – in 2011 and 2012, you went, but you lost.
People could say the same thing about you, right? You could make the game, but you couldn't win it.
But you kept going, and I think I have – understand it, you know,
(05:29):
You didn't quit 2017 to 2021.
You won four out of five state championships.
And so I think it's – I get really aggravated with the people on ESPN and they
just say the dumbest thing and they're not coaches.
But like education of a coach, right?
You learned as you went and then you hit the right time probably with the right
(05:53):
players, right everything, and you just rolled.
Talk about your growth there at Madison County.
And even maybe the two losses and how they propelled you to become a better coach.
Right. So, you know, our 2010 team at Madison, my first year as a head coach,
That might be the best team I've ever had at MADS. But we ran into Coco High
(06:15):
School, who was in a tremendous run, and we lost 17-15.
And at the end of that game, we had the ball with about three minutes left.
Well, you know, at that time, we were wing T, under center. Man,
I didn't have a two-minute offense ready at all.
And that haunts me because those kids worked so hard that year,
(06:36):
and we had a phenomenal football team. and we're running bootleg and counter
crisscross as our two-minute O, you know.
And so I always tell that group of kids, man, go y'all big time.
Like, you know, so I learned from that.
You know, I immediately – Coach Fisher was at Florida State as offense coordinator,
and we went to their clinic, and Coach Bowden was in there speaking.
(07:01):
And I happened to be out in the hallway when Coach Fisher was there,
and I pulled him to the side, and me and him sat against the wall for an hour, and I said,
I need the five easiest two-minute plays that y'all run that I could execute at a high school level,
and that's going to be my two-minute offense.
And he went for an hour, man. We went through it. And to this day,
(07:22):
we use most of those schemes that I got from Jimbo Fisher way back then.
But I think if you ever stop learning as a coach, then that's it.
You know, you need to do something else. And I don't know how you can preach
to kids to, you know, constantly evolve and learn and, and all that,
you know, and then another thing I, you know, I learned was we had a really
(07:45):
athletic kid coming in at quarterback at Madison, who's actually coaching there now.
And so that's right. When coach miles on was at Auburn and doing the gun stuff and all that.
So my OC and O-line coach, they begged me to go up there and I said,
we'll go, but I'm, and you know, cause I was a wing T guy.
I was not going to run inside zone, on inside zone was soft
(08:05):
you know and now it's my favorite play and and
i told them when we go up there first time we're
soft at practice during the game we're going back under center and running wing
t and we hadn't been back under center hardly at all since we've done it some
you know but what it did is it got those kids that played basketball in madison
that normally wouldn't play those six foot the to six three guys and man and
(08:30):
what happens is you get out there and you throw them them a few footballs and
they start falling in love with it.
And then they can go play DB too, you know, and then what wound up happening
is, is those kids went on and got college scholarships and, and furthered their
education playing football.
And we built a great relationship with the basketball coach there,
but, you know, losing those games.
I think the one thing it teaches you, and I always start off clinic talks with
(08:54):
this, is you better take care of the people that's going to sit in the front row at your funeral.
When we lost at 11 and 12, there wasn't anybody cheering for Mike Coe except
for my wife and my kids. My mom was there.
I'll never forget coming home, and I just laid down on the bed.
(09:16):
I was spent emotionally, physically, you know, and especially that 2012 game,
we played university Christian. They were fifth in the nation.
And I mean, they were loaded and we're meeting them 17 to nothing,
you know, and, uh, we just ran out of gas.
We played at one o'clock and in Florida in December, it's still 90 degrees.
And we just ran out of juice, you know, and we actually ended the game on their 12 yard line.
(09:40):
It was like fourth and 16 and we got like 15 and
a half yards and we ended the game right there
but that's that was the main thing
i took from that was even if you
were to win it right these are the people that are sacrificing with you you
know and and you're good you're giving up a lot i mean you really are you're
(10:01):
giving up a lot and i always try to help young coaches understand that man this
thing is not everything don't hang out up here in the office just to hang hang out,
you know, and our FCA guy taught me that coaches want to hang out at that field
house because they're good at football.
They're good at what they do. So they want to hang out and talk and shoot the
bull, you know, and a lot of times we can, we can say we're working and we're
(10:24):
not, we're just, we're just chilling out at the field house.
And, and it really started hitting me, you know, my oldest son is about to be 23.
He coaches ninth grade here for us. My youngest son's a junior that plays here
and then I've got two little girls one in sixth grade and one in kindergarten
and man they always told me that it would fly by but you don't realize it I
(10:45):
mean it it flies by and before you know it they're juniors and seniors and they're.
You know, the molding that you've done with them is about over.
I mean, they, you know, you only got so long to mold them and teach them and
try to lead them in the right direction, you know.
And I think a lot of coaches, man, they miss that boat with that because they're
(11:05):
so busy chasing the championship and thinking their value comes in that, you know.
And our rings came in yesterday, actually, and, you know, all my rings are over here in a box.
I mean, I don't wear them to clinics and I don't, you know, I just don't.
I mean, to me, it's about the next day and what is that day going to bring and
(11:26):
who can we help and what kid can we mold that day to maybe change his life.
And, you know, losing can break you or it can teach you.
And I've always tried to learn from it. You know, those losses we had here the
first year at Coffey, I mean, you know, they were, other than the Bambers game,
(11:48):
which was a Hail Mary, I mean, I mean, Ware County kicked our butt,
you know, and Cartersville kicked our butt.
And a lot of it was we were just too slow.
I mean, we couldn't get – we were scared to death.
Receivers running past us and, you know, there'd be a hole there and we weren't
quite fast enough to get through it.
And so, you know, I just think you have to constantly learn.
(12:08):
And I think you learn after losses. People say you can learn with wins, and you do.
But you can learn a lot after a loss, you know. And, and the early on,
I just tried to learn from every loss we had.
And, and, you know, there was pressure because Coach McPherson won a state championship
at Madison, Coach Carroll won one, and then we went a spell.
(12:30):
Where we didn't, but I was fortunate to have a principal that what he cared
about was, you know, those kids were at school and their pants were up and they
weren't being disrespectful and they were making their grades and we were handling that part of it.
And that's what he cared. And, you know, we were winning, but we just come up short at the end.
And I was fortunate to have to work for a guy that, that valued the,
(12:51):
the whole person and the whole kid and, and not just winning a state title.
And, and, and then, like you said, coach, we just kind of hit some magic there
and got the right group of kids.
And, and 16, we went all the way down to Pahokee, Florida, man,
you talk about a long ride and lost 21 to 19,
you know, and, and, and, but we had a lot of those kids coming back and,
(13:14):
you know, and then in that 17 group was the first and only team to go undefeated at Madison.
And, and there's just a great chemistry there with them and they learned how
to win, you know? And then we got to play Pahokee that next year in the semifinals
and beat them, I think, 28-10 at our place.
And then you know, Coach, winning breeds winning.
(13:35):
And it just becomes the expectation and new guys step up.
I tell guys, man, don't just take a job to take it. I think it's very important
that you find the right fit.
If you're an assistant coach, you work for a good man, man you
know first and foremost and and you're at
a place that that values your time and and
(13:57):
values what you bring to the table and if you're a head coach you know you do
the same like i think our coaches would tell you i don't waste their time i
treat them like professionals and like men and you know we don't meet just to
meet and but i value the time they're they're all almost all All of them are husbands and daddies,
and that's far more important than anything that we do, you know.
(14:21):
And if I interview a guy, we really don't talk about football a whole lot,
to be honest with you, because we're going to do what I want to do,
you know, because I tell them, we lose a game, they're not interviewing you,
they're interviewing me, you know.
But as long as you can love our kids like you love your own and you're loyal
and you're on time and all that, you can work for us, you know.
(14:42):
And I think our kids see that. They feed off of that, they know,
you know, and, and so just constantly trying to learn.
You know, I like going to clinics. I really like going to different schools
and just spending a few days.
Like last year, me and our receiver coach flew out to Bixby, Oklahoma.
Bixby's won like eight or nine straight state championships.
(15:03):
And you talk about a phenomenal place, but their staff, there are two coordinators
and head coach been together about 12 years and man, they got it rolling.
But I mean, it's a phenomenal place, but they're good dudes.
They treated us like royalty out there, man. and learned a lot of football from them.
Got some stuff that we brought back to our offense that really helped us this past year.
(15:26):
And so we try to do that once a year. We try to go – we went to Bixby.
Our defensive staff went to NC State because we're a stacked team.
And so they went and spent two or three days with Coach Gibson and just tried
– and the one thing they picked up was some blitzes that they got that we used
throughout the whole year.
And so we went to Bixby. We came back with one-word plays that really helped
(15:47):
our offense and our defense went to NC State, and they came back with a few
blitzes. That's the two things that we got from visiting those places.
But, man, it helped us big time this past year.
Yeah. Constantly learning. Coach, talk about inside zone.
You're a wing tee guy, so you like power counter, buck sweep, all that.
And now you say inside zone is your favorite play.
(16:11):
Talk about that progression because that's a hard one. I'm an O-line guy myself.
Self and uh yeah i'm with
you on that so talk about that progression a little bit well so
i really like split zone because it kind of gives them out
my trap deal from wing t yeah i mean
and then we insert and belly so you know you get that h back wrapped in there
for your belly deal on wing t but i just think you know we madison and here
(16:37):
we've been blessed with great running backs you know and you just don't ever
know where that thing's gonna hit and then me and and our offense coordinator,
Coach Berger, when Florida State was playing Auburn in the national championship back in 13,
their last practice in Tallahassee, Coach Fisher let me and him come over and watch.
And Jeremy Pruitt was his DC that year. And we were walking off the field with
(17:00):
Coach Pruitt, and we were asking him about Auburn, you know,
because they were getting ready to play them.
And he told us, he said, if it was just their gap schemes, I'd feel wonderful.
Or if it was just their zone schemes, I would feel wonderful.
But when they mix both of them, it starts messing with your eyes and your fits.
(17:21):
And so that's kind of when we decided we were going to go to Auburn and visit and get all that stuff.
And everything with us, just like how Coach Malzahn teaches, it all looks the same.
That fullback, we attack the center's butt crack, and then he's making his cut off of that.
(17:43):
It just all looks the same, and it's tough on those linebackers,
man, those fits and stuff.
Then you add tempo to it. We try to go ultra fast.
I like it because we still got some wingtip principles with it.
We run split zone, which is kind of like trap.
We run belly and insert, and we still run buck. No, Coach Malzahn doesn't run
(18:05):
– or he runs Buck. And now we've added outside zone.
I swore I'd never run that. But we've got the kids.
We've got certain running backs. Man, they love it, and they're good at it.
And it just gives us kind of a wrinkle.
You know, we don't major in it, but we do it enough where, you know,
we can have it in the game plan.
And so I love it because you just don't know where it's going to hit.
(18:27):
And there's so many things you can do off of.
You know, you can triple option everything off of it.
And then the thing that I really love, Coach, is that H-back in the middle of
the play changing sides, that defense has got to account for that.
You know, if he lines up somewhere, that's one thing. But in the middle of play,
when you gain a hat, and if they don't, you know, like the state championship
(18:50):
game, we call it bluff, you know.
And our H-back went like he was kicking out and avoided, and that linebacker
was trying to scrape and gap exchange,
and he pinned him in there, and now we got our quarterback back in our pitch
guy on one guy and that was a huge huge play for us in the state championship
game so i so it gives you the option component too you can just do so many things off that one play,
(19:14):
you know with just a simple tag and so i think for the o-line it's still just
inside zone right you know and then everybody else is just a tag and so it allows
you to go fast and i just think there's so many components to it that you know
that allows you to do different things.
Really good football. And the next thing I love is we're going to scheme it
(19:36):
where we can get two double teams. We probably run it more like duo.
You know, everybody wants to argue about that. All I know is we double a bunch
at the point. Yeah. And I like double teams.
Absolutely. I don't care what they call it. I like it.
Coach, talk about this. You were super successful there at the end the whole time,
(19:58):
but at the end you win four or five state championships at madison county
it kind of becomes your your madison county a
little bit and then you come to coffee county and coffee
you know it was always a good program never
won a state championship that that i
know of right but so you kind of so it's like
man you're at a program that's you all right and
(20:19):
then you come into a program that's a decent program what did
you do obviously you did a really good job but how
did you kind of weave your way in to
make it yours but still keep some of
the coffee county stuff so coach
pruitt is one heck of a football coach you know that he went back to florida
went back to williston and so he left this place in good shape you know but
(20:44):
what i what i couldn't do was come in and try to be him right and i had to be
me and i had to run it you You know,
they hired me for a reason and I had to come in here and run it, you know, the way,
the only way I know to do it and that's fall in love with these guys,
the good, the bad, the ugly, build true, authentic relationships.
(21:05):
It takes time, you know, you know, my door's always open.
They know that. I mean, them guys come in here all the time and,
and then from the physical standpoint just kind
of adapt what we did in the weight
room to get a little more speed work in and during the summer you
know like right now we got 50 some guys running track that's
(21:27):
the most they've ever had here by far you know
but just be me and then bring guys with
me that that believe the same way i
do and and you know believe that it's about building young young men into men
first and foremost and then probably the next thing was just get out in that
community and be visible the whole community not just certain parts you know
(21:50):
man listen i go i go to my guy bone,
who has black barbershop i go to my man oscar got a mexican barbershop and then
i've got two or three or different white dudes that cut my hair you know what
i mean like first time i first day i was here i went into bones and and tried
to start building relationships and letting them guys know listen Listen,
(22:10):
I'm not a guy that's going to sit in the office.
I'm not a guy that thinks he's better than anybody.
Man, I'm blessed to be here. And I came here to work and I came here to help
kids and I came here to help this community.
Come together and, and let's do this thing together. I can't do it by myself.
It's going to take all of us. And this community has been nothing short of just great.
(22:31):
And then when you go to the bands and you look behind you and the challenge
was, they told us we had five sections that our people could sit in and,
and they filled up 11 sections in that.
Oh, you know, that was a sign,
you know, and I know it's for the state title, but you go to Cartersville the
week before and it's 39 degrees and raining and there's nowhere to sit on our
(22:56):
side because coffee has showed up and packed it out and they love our kids.
And I think as long as you're transparent and they know that you're trying to
help kids become better people first, that makes our community better and a
better place to live, you know, I think they'll be behind you.
You're going to win some, you're going to lose some. And, and,
(23:17):
you know, you, you just, I'm transparent with it.
You know, I'm pretty transparent about how we do things and why we do things and, and all that.
And it's just been, it's been really good so far.
I mean, it's just been, I'm telling you, I live four miles from the school coach
and sometimes I pinch myself, man, like, you know, and it's not about the money,
(23:37):
but I'm, you know, the money's a lot better, a lot different,
you know, and, and, you know, I've been able able to take my wife,
you know, last weekend, we went up to Atlanta to a concert and then.
You know, I've been able to do a lot more things.
With her and for her, because, you know, I'll be honest with you,
we were pretty dang poor in Madison, you know, and been able to do a lot more
(24:01):
things with her and for my kids, but because I'm being able to come here.
And so that's been good. I mean, anybody, any coach that tells you that that's
not part of it, I don't know that I believe that.
I mean, it just, it means more in South Georgia. I think it really does.
I think in Georgia period.
And, and, and they show you that with the resources and the money and the and
(24:22):
the amount of coaches you're able to bring in and how you're able to feed the kids.
I mean, I tell the coaches that stayed here, man, like if you go look in our
coat cooler in the team meeting room, there's probably 1,000 crustables in there.
You know, we didn't have crustables in Madison.
I was making the peanut butter and jellies. You know, the coaches were making
them, and the kids appreciated it.
(24:43):
But just those little things, you know, we got guys here, man,
that mow the field, line the field, fix the sprinklers. Well,
in Madison, you're looking at the guy.
That had to do all that, you know, I don't know what I'm doing with sprinklers,
you know, but you don't have to do all that here, you know, and,
and it's just, it's just been a blessing, you know, but, but I did,
(25:04):
I did serve my 19 years, you know, that's a lot longer than most people,
you know, but I wouldn't trade those years with those kids and those coaches
and that community for anything. It, it, it grew me up.
It made me a better person, a better coach. And I owe a whole heck of a lot
to those kids from Madison County.
Absolutely. Coach, you said something pretty profound, and I think a lot of
(25:29):
people don't understand it.
And it's building relationships in the community.
You know, as a high school football coach, head high school football coach,
your relationships with people in the community is going to be critical to your success.
And the cool thing about Georgia is I think they understand that,
(25:49):
And that's why coaches, they're getting paid because you're so much bigger than
football. You're bringing the community together.
You're not the mayor, but you're very similar in that you have the power to do that.
Talk a little bit more about that, because obviously you have a strategic plan.
I mean, it might not be something you write down, but your goal is to be in
(26:10):
the community and people know you as a person.
Yeah. You know, like one of the first days I was on the job,
there was a young man here that had played the year before.
And he kind of went missing. He just hadn't been back to school.
And so I said, well, has anybody checked on him?
Like, you know, let's find out what the deal is. And, you know,
(26:31):
and they said, well, I said, tell me where he lives at. I'll go.
I'll go. And they're like, coach, you can't, you can't go down there.
And I'm like, well, yeah, I can.
I can go. And you really can't go down there at dark.
And I'm like, listen, I'm not asking you to go with me. I just need to know where it's at.
You know? So me and coach Vester, my special teams coordinator,
(26:51):
he was with me that night.
And we went down there and found the kid, you know, and, and found mama.
And we tried to get him back and he eventually went to night school and we didn't
get him back, but we tried, you know. Yeah.
And that kind of sent shockwave, not shockwaves, but a message to the community
like this dude's coming for real.
Like he's not here to talk and not be about it. Like this dude went down to the block, you know.
(27:17):
And Jerry Odom, when he was the head coach here, I have a lot of people tell
me you're a lot like Jerry, like Coach Odom, man. Man, you go down there and
you're visible in all the neighborhoods. And then you go get the kids.
And our running back last year, old Fred Brown, I'll never forget,
one of our younger kids, was late for summer practice or something.
(27:40):
And I heard Fred tell him, y'all might as well get up and come on because he'll
go to your house and snatch you out of the bed.
He's going to make sure you're here, so you might as well come on.
And I just don't want our kids to have any excuses. You know,
I don't want there to be any reason that they fail unless they just absolutely
choose to fail and, and, and that's who they want to be, but yeah,
(28:04):
You know, again, it's just about building relationships.
And, you know, I've spoken at Lions Club, Rotary Club, some churches.
I just think you've got to be relatable. Because here's the thing,
and this is what I told Lions Club the other day.
You know, I've been the only white guy in a black funeral several times.
(28:26):
Like that quarterback I was talking about, old fat daddy, he played at Bethune-Cookman,
started quarterback, and his mom passed away while he was in college.
And me and Coach Berger, we were the only two white dudes in that funeral. Nobody cared.
All they cared about was we showed up for our kid. We showed up for the guy
that gave us everything he had when he played for us.
(28:47):
And he was our guy. And we tell our guys, you're our guys forever.
Now, you won't be with us every day, but we're a phone call away.
It's four years for the next 40.
And all that mattered was they didn't see a white dude walk in.
And they saw, oh, that's Fats football coach that came because, you know what I mean?
And if you go to a black funeral, it's totally different than going to a white funeral.
(29:12):
Ain't neither one of them right or wrong. It's culture. It's a cultural deal.
And we get so hung up in America where somebody's got to be right,
somebody's got to be wrong, Republican, Democrat, black, white.
Man, who cares about all that?
We all going to die one day. It ain't going to matter what color our skin was or anything like that.
So I think our kids, we talk about that with our kids, you know,
(29:34):
and our kids know we don't give a flip about color of skin or all that,
man, we're going to love you regardless,
you know, and, and I'll go, I'll come to your house and walk in your house,
whether you live on that side of the tracks, or you got a million dollar home
on this side, it don't matter to me.
You've been entrusted to me and I've been blessed enough to come here and be
(29:56):
your coach and that's the way we're going to treat it, you know.
And our community knows that, and they see that. And, you know,
you can tell we got a big coach that we like to eat.
I mean, I'm going to tell you, we had seven or eight African-American churches
feed us after practice this past year, my gracious.
You know, you're talking about some good food and some good cooking.
(30:19):
But, man, I'll go out there right outside our team meeting room,
and I'm going to hang out.
No matter who it is that brings that food, because those people made a conscious
decision to put their hard-earned money and their hard-earned time into feeding
our staff and our kids, you know.
The least I can do is sit there and talk with them and have a conversation and
(30:39):
thank them for everything they do for us, you know. And to me, that's life.
I mean, you know, we had a former player from Madison that's in the Army.
Dallas Brown's my corners coach. He coaches track. And so I go out there every
day just to see who's there, make sure we're good.
And OAB said, Hey man, you've been in your office. I said, not last hour.
(30:59):
He said, go in there. There's somebody here to see it. You're going to love it.
And it was old JJ Jones kid that played in that 11 and 12 state championship game in Madison.
And then he went in the army and he's married now as, as a beautiful little
girl and man, we, me and coach Granada got to sit there with him yesterday for
30 minutes. And I mean, laughed and laughed and laughed. You know,
(31:21):
we didn't win a state championship together.
We played in two of them, but none of that mattered. We didn't even talk about
a state championship game.
We just talked about funny things that happened. We talked about teammates, you know, that he had.
And we just laughed and laughed and laughed. And that's what it's about,
man. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, it's about relationships.
And I tell them all the time about moments and memories, you know.
(31:43):
And what's funny, Coach, is when we won the state championship,
We're in the locker room and Anthony Falk, our starting corner,
who's at Charleston Southern right now, he said, Coach, I ain't going to lie to you, man.
It don't even feel like we've won the state championship.
You know what I mean? It just kind of feels funny.
So I told him a story about Brady when he won that Super Bowl,
(32:06):
and he said there's got to be more to life than this.
Again, I think what matters to people is that you care there
and that you're there for them and you're transparent you're honest
and and you know i think that's what matters
at the end of the day yeah no coach as
i listen to you the old i don't know it's just everything everybody said but
(32:28):
a kid doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care and you
just exude that just how you talk i mean it's just obvious that relationships
with the boys are are so important to you and i can see why you can get them
to do anything that that you ask them to do.
You talk about getting 50 kids to run track, they're running track because you asked them to do it.
Because you have that relationship with them.
(32:51):
You know, and talk about how you talked about how your FCA guy or somebody had
convicted you of something.
But talk about how your faith plays a role.
I can already tell because you
keep talking about loving the players and relationships in the community.
How does your faith play a role with you and how you coach?
Well, you know, and please don't tell you this the wrong way that I'm comparing myself to Jesus.
(33:16):
I'm surely not. But I'll always, if a kid messes up, I always try to ask myself,
how would Jesus handle this?
He was on earth for 33 years, and his ministry was really only for about three years.
And he hung out with people that really nobody wanted to hang out with. it.
(33:40):
You know, how would he, what would he want me to do in this situation and how
would he want me to handle it?
And, you know, those are the times I've got my FCA coaches Bible on my desk.
And those are the times, those moments where you can really lean on your faith and the Bible.
And I don't try to push it on our kids. I want, you know, cause I want it to be authentic.
(34:03):
I want them to choose, you know, we've got several kids on our team that are
Jehovah witness, you know, And they'll tell you like, there's,
there's zero issues, man.
Zero great kids, you know?
But that, you know, I grew up in church. My mom was choir director for 30-something years.
And I know for a fact that Jesus has put me. I didn't want to go to Madison County.
(34:28):
Man, I actually took another coach there to interview.
And I told him then, I said, you've lost your mind. There's no way,
no way I would come here and coach football.
And when I said I wouldn't do it, God showed me different, you know.
And if you'd have told me I would have ever left Madison County,
I'd have bet you money that I wouldn't.
(34:49):
And Jerry Odom called and said, I know the answer is going to be no.
Would you at least talk to him?
I said, sure. And, Coach, I'm telling you, when I interviewed, I knew.
I knew this is where I was supposed to be. I brought my best buddy with me.
He was my team chaplain at Madison for 12 years, and he came with me.
He played for Coach Pruitt in high school at Union County down there, and he came with me.
(35:13):
We were actually pulling into the town, and he looked right at me.
He said, I'm telling you, this is where you're supposed to be. I just got a feeling.
I knew this was where I was supposed to be. This is where God wanted me.
I think that's so important for young guys because they just want to jump at the next best thing.
It goes back to fit. This is a hard-nosed town, a blue-collar town,
(35:35):
a town that's hungry to see kids succeed, not just in football,
but there are so many things here for our kids to do. So, and it just fits me, it fits me.
My wife is a big part of it. You know, we look at it as, as we're missionaries,
she teaches second grade and she loves them little rascals in her class.
Like I love my players and she's went with me everywhere we've been.
(35:57):
And she doesn't complain, you know, she knows that it's my kids don't complain.
My boys have run around taking kids home with me forever, and they've gotten
to see some of the places that we've taken kids home to.
And it's kind of eye-opening, you know, and it kind of brought a different deal for them.
Like, you know, we're pretty blessed to have what we have and to live where we live.
(36:20):
And, you know, not all my teammates have that. And faith is a big part.
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that.
And, you know, we got really good FCA people here and chaplains.
And, and, you know, I, I just, I just think if it's outside of where God wants
you, I don't know that you're ever, you may have some success,
(36:40):
but I don't know that you'll be very significant.
And I don't know that you'll have a lot of joy, you know?
That's good success, but might not be very significant.
All right, coach, as we wrap it up, it's been great. What are,
what are two kind of codes, creeds, whatever that you, that you live by?
Like, obviously demand excellence is one for me.
(37:02):
Right um what are two things that are foundational for
you well so what we do is we say our
deal is crawl okay the c
is for commitment you know i tell our
kids all the time i think that's why the world is the way it is is men don't
don't know how to commit when things get hard they run right they run from their
(37:23):
responsibility they can't you know let your yes be yes your no be no if you
say you're You're going to be somewhere, be there. If you say you're going to do it, do it.
But, you know, being committed and then the R is for respect.
And that goes back to that deal I was talking about, black and white,
Republican and Democrat.
End of the day, man, it don't matter. Be respectful towards each other and understand
(37:45):
it's okay to agree to disagree, you know, but show respect and everything you
do and you'll always be okay. And then A is attitude.
Well, I used to say attitude and effort was the two things you can control,
but I don't think you'll have a very good effort. if your attitude is terrible.
So we talk a lot with our kids about controlling their thought process and.
(38:06):
About not reacting to every little thing that happens, but responding the correct way.
But that attitude is everything and everything you do in life.
You know, if you got a bad attitude towards it, it ain't going to be very successful, no matter what it is.
You know, the W is willingness, right?
You want to be a good husband, you better be willing to sacrifice.
(38:27):
You want to be a good daddy, you better be willing. I love football,
but my two little girls dance.
And so twice a year, they're going to have recitals. not exactly
where i want to hang out but my two babies love
it and so if i gotta fake it
i'm gonna act like it's the super bowl right i cannot wait
to go watch y'all dance you know because they love it and they
(38:48):
put their time and their effort into it and and they won't
they want to please me they want their daddy to be happy you
know and seeing them and stuff and so just be willing it's just
like being a great teammate you might play somewhere you don't want to
play for us to be be successful our nose guard was
200 pounds you know probably didn't have any business playing
down there but we sliced him and diced him and man third down
(39:09):
the state championship game the end of the game he made the sack that made
it like fourth and 30 you know because he was willing to do it not all guys
aren't willing but be willing to do it and then the the l is for love the greatest
commandment of all you know love will conquer all of it you know and just you
know love Love your teammates. We talk about being a great son.
(39:31):
Love your mom and daddy and honor
them and respect them and be who you're supposed to be. Love yourself.
We tell them our job as coaches is to love them, and their job is to love each other.
But what we talk about, that's our main deal is crawl.
We've got that plastered just about everywhere. Matter of fact,
our mayor gave me a proclamation in the key of the city, and he said that coffee
(39:54):
was a crawl community. community. So that was pretty cool.
Well, coach, it's been really awesome talking with you and just hearing about the impact.
Obviously you won the state championship, but just the impact that you're having
on the community and really the people don't even, might not even know it because
you don't proclaim it necessarily, but impact for Christ.
(40:15):
And so it's very cool to see. Would you mind if I pray for you as we head out?
That'd be awesome, coach. I appreciate it, brother. Yes, sir.
Lord, we're coming for you today. I just want to praise and thank you for loving
us, Lord. We praise and thank you for your son, Jesus Christ,
dying on the cross for our sins, Lord.
And it is so awesome to hear about what Coach is doing there in Coffey County
(40:35):
and just how you're using him in the community and building relationships,
not just with his players, but just the community and how you're using him to shine as a light.
Lord, I pray that he would just continue to be successful, continue to put you
first, and Lord, that you would just bless that community.
We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
(40:56):
Coach, thank you so much, man. Thank you, Coach. Appreciate it.
Yes, sir. All right. See you, brother.
All right, everybody, I am back for another episode of Demand Excellence,
and today I have a special guest, Coach Coe from Coffey County,
won the state championship there, 5A state championship, super successful coach.
He was in Florida for 12 season where he went 135 and 26, won four state championships.
(00:20):
Then he comes up to Coffey County in 2022 and wins the state state championship in 2023.
So coach, my first question for you is you kind of left us with a cliffhanger
there at the end of the state championship when you were up on the podium and
you said everybody told you that you couldn't win at coffee.
Talk to us about that. It's got to be a special feeling that you did what a
(00:44):
lot of people thought you couldn't do.
Yeah, you know, at Madison, we had really good players.
So you had some people, you know, coaches specifically specifically around there
that, you know, well, anybody can win at Madison.
And they've had, you know, Coach McPherson was there, and he won a state championship
there. And then Coach Carroll, you know, I was on his staff in 07 when we won one.
(01:05):
But Madison is a, you know, it's a low socioeconomic place.
A lot of the kids there don't have dads in their lives. And we took great pride
in, you know, not only winning, but winning in life with those kids.
And almost 100% of our kids graduated from high school.
And we really poured our heart and soul into that place. I was there for 19 years.
(01:28):
And, you know, it was a smaller school. So you come to a bigger school in Georgia
and you hear the whispers, you know, that it's not going to be as easy as it
was in Madison and all this and that. And it's never easy.
You know, I don't care what class you're playing in.
When you get to the semifinals and the finals, there's good people waiting on
(01:49):
you You had really good coaches and good programs and good players across from you.
I've never really focused on winning a state title, honestly.
We just try to be, and it sounds cliche, but we just try to be the absolute best we can be that day.
Whatever we're doing that day, let's knock it out. Let's not have any regrets.
(02:10):
Let's push ourselves to the max. And these kids have bought in,
and I'm really, really fortunate. Dr.
Lease, our superintendent, and Mr. Van Allen, our principal,
have really supported us, and I've got great coaches on staff.
Every coach I have, 9 through 12, works in our school system.
There's no community coaches on nine through 12, you know, and then middle school,
(02:33):
we've got quite a few that work in the building too.
And I think that matters. I think that's a huge difference.
You know, at Madison, I was lucky to have three or four in the building.
And then you, I went and got former players that played for us that I trusted
that, you know, worked in the community and they come when they got off work
and stuff like that. But here, man, it's just totally different.
I mean, you've got guys that's been doing it for a long time.
(02:56):
Time the guys that i kept off coach pruitt's staff you talk about ultra professional
guys that get it that work hard you know there's zero egos i've got i think
seven former head coaches on this staff,
and that's really helpful to me because they see the big picture they try to
keep stuff off of my desk you know uh coach bo johnson i mean he was the head
(03:18):
coach at blundstown actually played against him twice in state championship
games he runs our equipment room i mean that's the worst job job in sports,
you know, and he, he does it with great pride and our kids love him.
And, you know, I've just got a bunch of men like that on our staff and,
and they come in here and the first thing they did is start loving on these kids.
(03:38):
And, and we, after that first season, I knew we had to get a lot faster.
We did. We're going to be strong enough. Coach Booth does a great job in the
weight room, but we weren't near fast enough.
So we put an emphasis on speed last off season. and the kids bought in and,
you know, we practice really, really fast.
We, we play with tempo and our kids know we're not going to be out there for
three hours, you know, we're going to hit it and get it and get our work done.
(04:01):
And we have a lot of fun with our kids, you know, we're, we have them over at
our house and feed them and we do a lot of things off the field with them.
Cause we want to, you know, when I, when I die, I'm not going to get asked about
state championship rings at all.
You know, that's none of that's going with me, but I will get asked about how
I treated these kids and where I led them to and how I tried to lead them and
(04:24):
things like that. And those are the most important things.
You know as well as I do, you're not going to win a state championship every year.
And so if that's the reason you're in it, man, you're going to be disappointed
big time, almost 100% of the time.
But to see kids mature and change and become good dads and husbands and citizens,
man, that's what it's all about.
(04:46):
Absolutely. Well, Coach, one of the things going on, you know,
on ESPN, especially after the Super Bowl and all these talking heads,
you know, they're all kind of knocking Kyle Shanahan saying,
you know, he can't win the big game.
And you can't win the Super Bowl, and they're just – he's only 44 years old
or 45, and just, you know, and so I think your story is cool because when I
(05:09):
was reading up about you, you know, you were at Madison County for 12 seasons, super successful,
but you didn't just start winning state championships.
You – in 2011 and 2012, you went, but you lost.
People could say the same thing about you, right? You could make the game, but you couldn't win it.
But you kept going, and I think I have – understand it, you know,
(05:29):
You didn't quit 2017 to 2021.
You won four out of five state championships.
And so I think it's – I get really aggravated with the people on ESPN and they
just say the dumbest thing and they're not coaches.
But like education of a coach, right?
You learned as you went and then you hit the right time probably with the right
(05:53):
players, right everything, and you just rolled.
Talk about your growth there at Madison County.
And even maybe the two losses and how they propelled you to become a better coach.
Right. So, you know, our 2010 team at Madison, my first year as a head coach,
That might be the best team I've ever had at MADS. But we ran into Coco High
(06:15):
School, who was in a tremendous run, and we lost 17-15.
And at the end of that game, we had the ball with about three minutes left.
Well, you know, at that time, we were wing T, under center. Man,
I didn't have a two-minute offense ready at all.
And that haunts me because those kids worked so hard that year,
(06:36):
and we had a phenomenal football team. and we're running bootleg and counter
crisscross as our two-minute O, you know.
And so I always tell that group of kids, man, go y'all big time.
Like, you know, so I learned from that.
You know, I immediately – Coach Fisher was at Florida State as offense coordinator,
and we went to their clinic, and Coach Bowden was in there speaking.
(07:01):
And I happened to be out in the hallway when Coach Fisher was there,
and I pulled him to the side, and me and him sat against the wall for an hour, and I said,
I need the five easiest two-minute plays that y'all run that I could execute at a high school level,
and that's going to be my two-minute offense.
And he went for an hour, man. We went through it. And to this day,
(07:22):
we use most of those schemes that I got from Jimbo Fisher way back then.
But I think if you ever stop learning as a coach, then that's it.
You know, you need to do something else. And I don't know how you can preach
to kids to, you know, constantly evolve and learn and, and all that,
you know, and then another thing I, you know, I learned was we had a really
(07:45):
athletic kid coming in at quarterback at Madison, who's actually coaching there now.
And so that's right. When coach miles on was at Auburn and doing the gun stuff and all that.
So my OC and O-line coach, they begged me to go up there and I said,
we'll go, but I'm, and you know, cause I was a wing T guy.
I was not going to run inside zone, on inside zone was soft
(08:05):
you know and now it's my favorite play and and
i told them when we go up there first time we're
soft at practice during the game we're going back under center and running wing
t and we hadn't been back under center hardly at all since we've done it some
you know but what it did is it got those kids that played basketball in madison
that normally wouldn't play those six foot the to six three guys and man and
(08:30):
what happens is you get out there and you throw them them a few footballs and
they start falling in love with it.
And then they can go play DB too, you know, and then what wound up happening
is, is those kids went on and got college scholarships and, and furthered their
education playing football.
And we built a great relationship with the basketball coach there,
but, you know, losing those games.
I think the one thing it teaches you, and I always start off clinic talks with
(08:54):
this, is you better take care of the people that's going to sit in the front row at your funeral.
When we lost at 11 and 12, there wasn't anybody cheering for Mike Coe except
for my wife and my kids. My mom was there.
I'll never forget coming home, and I just laid down on the bed.
(09:16):
I was spent emotionally, physically, you know, and especially that 2012 game,
we played university Christian. They were fifth in the nation.
And I mean, they were loaded and we're meeting them 17 to nothing,
you know, and, uh, we just ran out of gas.
We played at one o'clock and in Florida in December, it's still 90 degrees.
And we just ran out of juice, you know, and we actually ended the game on their 12 yard line.
(09:40):
It was like fourth and 16 and we got like 15 and
a half yards and we ended the game right there
but that's that was the main thing
i took from that was even if you
were to win it right these are the people that are sacrificing with you you
know and and you're good you're giving up a lot i mean you really are you're
(10:01):
giving up a lot and i always try to help young coaches understand that man this
thing is not everything don't hang out up here in the office just to hang hang out,
you know, and our FCA guy taught me that coaches want to hang out at that field
house because they're good at football.
They're good at what they do. So they want to hang out and talk and shoot the
bull, you know, and a lot of times we can, we can say we're working and we're
(10:24):
not, we're just, we're just chilling out at the field house.
And, and it really started hitting me, you know, my oldest son is about to be 23.
He coaches ninth grade here for us. My youngest son's a junior that plays here
and then I've got two little girls one in sixth grade and one in kindergarten
and man they always told me that it would fly by but you don't realize it I
(10:45):
mean it it flies by and before you know it they're juniors and seniors and they're.
You know, the molding that you've done with them is about over.
I mean, they, you know, you only got so long to mold them and teach them and
try to lead them in the right direction, you know.
And I think a lot of coaches, man, they miss that boat with that because they're
(11:05):
so busy chasing the championship and thinking their value comes in that, you know.
And our rings came in yesterday, actually, and, you know, all my rings are over here in a box.
I mean, I don't wear them to clinics and I don't, you know, I just don't.
I mean, to me, it's about the next day and what is that day going to bring and
(11:26):
who can we help and what kid can we mold that day to maybe change his life.
And, you know, losing can break you or it can teach you.
And I've always tried to learn from it. You know, those losses we had here the
first year at Coffey, I mean, you know, they were, other than the Bambers game,
(11:48):
which was a Hail Mary, I mean, I mean, Ware County kicked our butt,
you know, and Cartersville kicked our butt.
And a lot of it was we were just too slow.
I mean, we couldn't get – we were scared to death.
Receivers running past us and, you know, there'd be a hole there and we weren't
quite fast enough to get through it.
And so, you know, I just think you have to constantly learn.
(12:08):
And I think you learn after losses. People say you can learn with wins, and you do.
But you can learn a lot after a loss, you know. And, and the early on,
I just tried to learn from every loss we had.
And, and, you know, there was pressure because Coach McPherson won a state championship
at Madison, Coach Carroll won one, and then we went a spell.
(12:30):
Where we didn't, but I was fortunate to have a principal that what he cared
about was, you know, those kids were at school and their pants were up and they
weren't being disrespectful and they were making their grades and we were handling that part of it.
And that's what he cared. And, you know, we were winning, but we just come up short at the end.
And I was fortunate to have to work for a guy that, that valued the,
(12:51):
the whole person and the whole kid and, and not just winning a state title.
And, and, and then, like you said, coach, we just kind of hit some magic there
and got the right group of kids.
And, and 16, we went all the way down to Pahokee, Florida, man,
you talk about a long ride and lost 21 to 19,
you know, and, and, and, but we had a lot of those kids coming back and,
(13:14):
you know, and then in that 17 group was the first and only team to go undefeated at Madison.
And, and there's just a great chemistry there with them and they learned how
to win, you know? And then we got to play Pahokee that next year in the semifinals
and beat them, I think, 28-10 at our place.
And then you know, Coach, winning breeds winning.
(13:35):
And it just becomes the expectation and new guys step up.
I tell guys, man, don't just take a job to take it. I think it's very important
that you find the right fit.
If you're an assistant coach, you work for a good man, man you
know first and foremost and and you're at
a place that that values your time and and
(13:57):
values what you bring to the table and if you're a head coach you know you do
the same like i think our coaches would tell you i don't waste their time i
treat them like professionals and like men and you know we don't meet just to
meet and but i value the time they're they're all almost all All of them are husbands and daddies,
and that's far more important than anything that we do, you know.
(14:21):
And if I interview a guy, we really don't talk about football a whole lot,
to be honest with you, because we're going to do what I want to do,
you know, because I tell them, we lose a game, they're not interviewing you,
they're interviewing me, you know.
But as long as you can love our kids like you love your own and you're loyal
and you're on time and all that, you can work for us, you know.
(14:42):
And I think our kids see that. They feed off of that, they know,
you know, and, and so just constantly trying to learn.
You know, I like going to clinics. I really like going to different schools
and just spending a few days.
Like last year, me and our receiver coach flew out to Bixby, Oklahoma.
Bixby's won like eight or nine straight state championships.
(15:03):
And you talk about a phenomenal place, but their staff, there are two coordinators
and head coach been together about 12 years and man, they got it rolling.
But I mean, it's a phenomenal place, but they're good dudes.
They treated us like royalty out there, man. and learned a lot of football from them.
Got some stuff that we brought back to our offense that really helped us this past year.
(15:26):
And so we try to do that once a year. We try to go – we went to Bixby.
Our defensive staff went to NC State because we're a stacked team.
And so they went and spent two or three days with Coach Gibson and just tried
– and the one thing they picked up was some blitzes that they got that we used
throughout the whole year.
And so we went to Bixby. We came back with one-word plays that really helped
(15:47):
our offense and our defense went to NC State, and they came back with a few
blitzes. That's the two things that we got from visiting those places.
But, man, it helped us big time this past year.
Yeah. Constantly learning. Coach, talk about inside zone.
You're a wing tee guy, so you like power counter, buck sweep, all that.
And now you say inside zone is your favorite play.
(16:11):
Talk about that progression because that's a hard one. I'm an O-line guy myself.
Self and uh yeah i'm with
you on that so talk about that progression a little bit well so
i really like split zone because it kind of gives them out
my trap deal from wing t yeah i mean
and then we insert and belly so you know you get that h back wrapped in there
for your belly deal on wing t but i just think you know we madison and here
(16:37):
we've been blessed with great running backs you know and you just don't ever
know where that thing's gonna hit and then me and and our offense coordinator,
Coach Berger, when Florida State was playing Auburn in the national championship back in 13,
their last practice in Tallahassee, Coach Fisher let me and him come over and watch.
And Jeremy Pruitt was his DC that year. And we were walking off the field with
(17:00):
Coach Pruitt, and we were asking him about Auburn, you know,
because they were getting ready to play them.
And he told us, he said, if it was just their gap schemes, I'd feel wonderful.
Or if it was just their zone schemes, I would feel wonderful.
But when they mix both of them, it starts messing with your eyes and your fits.
(17:21):
And so that's kind of when we decided we were going to go to Auburn and visit and get all that stuff.
And everything with us, just like how Coach Malzahn teaches, it all looks the same.
That fullback, we attack the center's butt crack, and then he's making his cut off of that.
(17:43):
It just all looks the same, and it's tough on those linebackers,
man, those fits and stuff.
Then you add tempo to it. We try to go ultra fast.
I like it because we still got some wingtip principles with it.
We run split zone, which is kind of like trap.
We run belly and insert, and we still run buck. No, Coach Malzahn doesn't run
(18:05):
– or he runs Buck. And now we've added outside zone.
I swore I'd never run that. But we've got the kids.
We've got certain running backs. Man, they love it, and they're good at it.
And it just gives us kind of a wrinkle.
You know, we don't major in it, but we do it enough where, you know,
we can have it in the game plan.
And so I love it because you just don't know where it's going to hit.
(18:27):
And there's so many things you can do off of.
You know, you can triple option everything off of it.
And then the thing that I really love, Coach, is that H-back in the middle of
the play changing sides, that defense has got to account for that.
You know, if he lines up somewhere, that's one thing. But in the middle of play,
when you gain a hat, and if they don't, you know, like the state championship
(18:50):
game, we call it bluff, you know.
And our H-back went like he was kicking out and avoided, and that linebacker
was trying to scrape and gap exchange,
and he pinned him in there, and now we got our quarterback back in our pitch
guy on one guy and that was a huge huge play for us in the state championship
game so i so it gives you the option component too you can just do so many things off that one play,
(19:14):
you know with just a simple tag and so i think for the o-line it's still just
inside zone right you know and then everybody else is just a tag and so it allows
you to go fast and i just think there's so many components to it that you know
that allows you to do different things.
Really good football. And the next thing I love is we're going to scheme it
(19:36):
where we can get two double teams. We probably run it more like duo.
You know, everybody wants to argue about that. All I know is we double a bunch
at the point. Yeah. And I like double teams.
Absolutely. I don't care what they call it. I like it.
Coach, talk about this. You were super successful there at the end the whole time,
(19:58):
but at the end you win four or five state championships at madison county
it kind of becomes your your madison county a
little bit and then you come to coffee county and coffee
you know it was always a good program never
won a state championship that that i
know of right but so you kind of so it's like
man you're at a program that's you all right and
(20:19):
then you come into a program that's a decent program what did
you do obviously you did a really good job but how
did you kind of weave your way in to
make it yours but still keep some of
the coffee county stuff so coach
pruitt is one heck of a football coach you know that he went back to florida
went back to williston and so he left this place in good shape you know but
(20:44):
what i what i couldn't do was come in and try to be him right and i had to be
me and i had to run it you You know,
they hired me for a reason and I had to come in here and run it, you know, the way,
the only way I know to do it and that's fall in love with these guys,
the good, the bad, the ugly, build true, authentic relationships.
(21:05):
It takes time, you know, you know, my door's always open.
They know that. I mean, them guys come in here all the time and,
and then from the physical standpoint just kind
of adapt what we did in the weight
room to get a little more speed work in and during the summer you
know like right now we got 50 some guys running track that's
(21:27):
the most they've ever had here by far you know
but just be me and then bring guys with
me that that believe the same way i
do and and you know believe that it's about building young young men into men
first and foremost and then probably the next thing was just get out in that
community and be visible the whole community not just certain parts you know
(21:50):
man listen i go i go to my guy bone,
who has black barbershop i go to my man oscar got a mexican barbershop and then
i've got two or three or different white dudes that cut my hair you know what
i mean like first time i first day i was here i went into bones and and tried
to start building relationships and letting them guys know listen Listen,
(22:10):
I'm not a guy that's going to sit in the office.
I'm not a guy that thinks he's better than anybody.
Man, I'm blessed to be here. And I came here to work and I came here to help
kids and I came here to help this community.
Come together and, and let's do this thing together. I can't do it by myself.
It's going to take all of us. And this community has been nothing short of just great.
(22:31):
And then when you go to the bands and you look behind you and the challenge
was, they told us we had five sections that our people could sit in and,
and they filled up 11 sections in that.
Oh, you know, that was a sign,
you know, and I know it's for the state title, but you go to Cartersville the
week before and it's 39 degrees and raining and there's nowhere to sit on our
(22:56):
side because coffee has showed up and packed it out and they love our kids.
And I think as long as you're transparent and they know that you're trying to
help kids become better people first, that makes our community better and a
better place to live, you know, I think they'll be behind you.
You're going to win some, you're going to lose some. And, and,
(23:17):
you know, you, you just, I'm transparent with it.
You know, I'm pretty transparent about how we do things and why we do things and, and all that.
And it's just been, it's been really good so far.
I mean, it's just been, I'm telling you, I live four miles from the school coach
and sometimes I pinch myself, man, like, you know, and it's not about the money,
(23:37):
but I'm, you know, the money's a lot better, a lot different,
you know, and, and, you know, I've been able able to take my wife,
you know, last weekend, we went up to Atlanta to a concert and then.
You know, I've been able to do a lot more things.
With her and for her, because, you know, I'll be honest with you,
we were pretty dang poor in Madison, you know, and been able to do a lot more
(24:01):
things with her and for my kids, but because I'm being able to come here.
And so that's been good. I mean, anybody, any coach that tells you that that's
not part of it, I don't know that I believe that.
I mean, it just, it means more in South Georgia. I think it really does.
I think in Georgia period.
And, and, and they show you that with the resources and the money and the and
(24:22):
the amount of coaches you're able to bring in and how you're able to feed the kids.
I mean, I tell the coaches that stayed here, man, like if you go look in our
coat cooler in the team meeting room, there's probably 1,000 crustables in there.
You know, we didn't have crustables in Madison.
I was making the peanut butter and jellies. You know, the coaches were making
them, and the kids appreciated it.
(24:43):
But just those little things, you know, we got guys here, man,
that mow the field, line the field, fix the sprinklers. Well,
in Madison, you're looking at the guy.
That had to do all that, you know, I don't know what I'm doing with sprinklers,
you know, but you don't have to do all that here, you know, and,
and it's just, it's just been a blessing, you know, but, but I did,
(25:04):
I did serve my 19 years, you know, that's a lot longer than most people,
you know, but I wouldn't trade those years with those kids and those coaches
and that community for anything. It, it, it grew me up.
It made me a better person, a better coach. And I owe a whole heck of a lot
to those kids from Madison County.
Absolutely. Coach, you said something pretty profound, and I think a lot of
(25:29):
people don't understand it.
And it's building relationships in the community.
You know, as a high school football coach, head high school football coach,
your relationships with people in the community is going to be critical to your success.
And the cool thing about Georgia is I think they understand that,
(25:49):
And that's why coaches, they're getting paid because you're so much bigger than
football. You're bringing the community together.
You're not the mayor, but you're very similar in that you have the power to do that.
Talk a little bit more about that, because obviously you have a strategic plan.
I mean, it might not be something you write down, but your goal is to be in
(26:10):
the community and people know you as a person.
Yeah. You know, like one of the first days I was on the job,
there was a young man here that had played the year before.
And he kind of went missing. He just hadn't been back to school.
And so I said, well, has anybody checked on him?
Like, you know, let's find out what the deal is. And, you know,
(26:31):
and they said, well, I said, tell me where he lives at. I'll go.
I'll go. And they're like, coach, you can't, you can't go down there.
And I'm like, well, yeah, I can.
I can go. And you really can't go down there at dark.
And I'm like, listen, I'm not asking you to go with me. I just need to know where it's at.
You know? So me and coach Vester, my special teams coordinator,
(26:51):
he was with me that night.
And we went down there and found the kid, you know, and, and found mama.
And we tried to get him back and he eventually went to night school and we didn't
get him back, but we tried, you know. Yeah.
And that kind of sent shockwave, not shockwaves, but a message to the community
like this dude's coming for real.
Like he's not here to talk and not be about it. Like this dude went down to the block, you know.
(27:17):
And Jerry Odom, when he was the head coach here, I have a lot of people tell
me you're a lot like Jerry, like Coach Odom, man. Man, you go down there and
you're visible in all the neighborhoods. And then you go get the kids.
And our running back last year, old Fred Brown, I'll never forget,
one of our younger kids, was late for summer practice or something.
(27:40):
And I heard Fred tell him, y'all might as well get up and come on because he'll
go to your house and snatch you out of the bed.
He's going to make sure you're here, so you might as well come on.
And I just don't want our kids to have any excuses. You know,
I don't want there to be any reason that they fail unless they just absolutely
choose to fail and, and, and that's who they want to be, but yeah,
(28:04):
You know, again, it's just about building relationships.
And, you know, I've spoken at Lions Club, Rotary Club, some churches.
I just think you've got to be relatable. Because here's the thing,
and this is what I told Lions Club the other day.
You know, I've been the only white guy in a black funeral several times.
(28:26):
Like that quarterback I was talking about, old fat daddy, he played at Bethune-Cookman,
started quarterback, and his mom passed away while he was in college.
And me and Coach Berger, we were the only two white dudes in that funeral. Nobody cared.
All they cared about was we showed up for our kid. We showed up for the guy
that gave us everything he had when he played for us.
(28:47):
And he was our guy. And we tell our guys, you're our guys forever.
Now, you won't be with us every day, but we're a phone call away.
It's four years for the next 40.
And all that mattered was they didn't see a white dude walk in.
And they saw, oh, that's Fats football coach that came because, you know what I mean?
And if you go to a black funeral, it's totally different than going to a white funeral.
(29:12):
Ain't neither one of them right or wrong. It's culture. It's a cultural deal.
And we get so hung up in America where somebody's got to be right,
somebody's got to be wrong, Republican, Democrat, black, white.
Man, who cares about all that?
We all going to die one day. It ain't going to matter what color our skin was or anything like that.
So I think our kids, we talk about that with our kids, you know,
(29:34):
and our kids know we don't give a flip about color of skin or all that,
man, we're going to love you regardless,
you know, and, and I'll go, I'll come to your house and walk in your house,
whether you live on that side of the tracks, or you got a million dollar home
on this side, it don't matter to me.
You've been entrusted to me and I've been blessed enough to come here and be
(29:56):
your coach and that's the way we're going to treat it, you know.
And our community knows that, and they see that. And, you know,
you can tell we got a big coach that we like to eat.
I mean, I'm going to tell you, we had seven or eight African-American churches
feed us after practice this past year, my gracious.
You know, you're talking about some good food and some good cooking.
(30:19):
But, man, I'll go out there right outside our team meeting room,
and I'm going to hang out.
No matter who it is that brings that food, because those people made a conscious
decision to put their hard-earned money and their hard-earned time into feeding
our staff and our kids, you know.
The least I can do is sit there and talk with them and have a conversation and
(30:39):
thank them for everything they do for us, you know. And to me, that's life.
I mean, you know, we had a former player from Madison that's in the Army.
Dallas Brown's my corners coach. He coaches track. And so I go out there every
day just to see who's there, make sure we're good.
And OAB said, Hey man, you've been in your office. I said, not last hour.
(30:59):
He said, go in there. There's somebody here to see it. You're going to love it.
And it was old JJ Jones kid that played in that 11 and 12 state championship game in Madison.
And then he went in the army and he's married now as, as a beautiful little
girl and man, we, me and coach Granada got to sit there with him yesterday for
30 minutes. And I mean, laughed and laughed and laughed. You know,
(31:21):
we didn't win a state championship together.
We played in two of them, but none of that mattered. We didn't even talk about
a state championship game.
We just talked about funny things that happened. We talked about teammates, you know, that he had.
And we just laughed and laughed and laughed. And that's what it's about,
man. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, it's about relationships.
And I tell them all the time about moments and memories, you know.
(31:43):
And what's funny, Coach, is when we won the state championship,
We're in the locker room and Anthony Falk, our starting corner,
who's at Charleston Southern right now, he said, Coach, I ain't going to lie to you, man.
It don't even feel like we've won the state championship.
You know what I mean? It just kind of feels funny.
So I told him a story about Brady when he won that Super Bowl,
(32:06):
and he said there's got to be more to life than this.
Again, I think what matters to people is that you care there
and that you're there for them and you're transparent you're honest
and and you know i think that's what matters
at the end of the day yeah no coach as
i listen to you the old i don't know it's just everything everybody said but
(32:28):
a kid doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care and you
just exude that just how you talk i mean it's just obvious that relationships
with the boys are are so important to you and i can see why you can get them
to do anything that that you ask them to do.
You talk about getting 50 kids to run track, they're running track because you asked them to do it.
Because you have that relationship with them.
(32:51):
You know, and talk about how you talked about how your FCA guy or somebody had
convicted you of something.
But talk about how your faith plays a role.
I can already tell because you
keep talking about loving the players and relationships in the community.
How does your faith play a role with you and how you coach?
Well, you know, and please don't tell you this the wrong way that I'm comparing myself to Jesus.
(33:16):
I'm surely not. But I'll always, if a kid messes up, I always try to ask myself,
how would Jesus handle this?
He was on earth for 33 years, and his ministry was really only for about three years.
And he hung out with people that really nobody wanted to hang out with. it.
(33:40):
You know, how would he, what would he want me to do in this situation and how
would he want me to handle it?
And, you know, those are the times I've got my FCA coaches Bible on my desk.
And those are the times, those moments where you can really lean on your faith and the Bible.
And I don't try to push it on our kids. I want, you know, cause I want it to be authentic.
(34:03):
I want them to choose, you know, we've got several kids on our team that are
Jehovah witness, you know, And they'll tell you like, there's,
there's zero issues, man.
Zero great kids, you know?
But that, you know, I grew up in church. My mom was choir director for 30-something years.
And I know for a fact that Jesus has put me. I didn't want to go to Madison County.
(34:28):
Man, I actually took another coach there to interview.
And I told him then, I said, you've lost your mind. There's no way,
no way I would come here and coach football.
And when I said I wouldn't do it, God showed me different, you know.
And if you'd have told me I would have ever left Madison County,
I'd have bet you money that I wouldn't.
(34:49):
And Jerry Odom called and said, I know the answer is going to be no.
Would you at least talk to him?
I said, sure. And, Coach, I'm telling you, when I interviewed, I knew.
I knew this is where I was supposed to be. I brought my best buddy with me.
He was my team chaplain at Madison for 12 years, and he came with me.
He played for Coach Pruitt in high school at Union County down there, and he came with me.
(35:13):
We were actually pulling into the town, and he looked right at me.
He said, I'm telling you, this is where you're supposed to be. I just got a feeling.
I knew this was where I was supposed to be. This is where God wanted me.
I think that's so important for young guys because they just want to jump at the next best thing.
It goes back to fit. This is a hard-nosed town, a blue-collar town,
(35:35):
a town that's hungry to see kids succeed, not just in football,
but there are so many things here for our kids to do. So, and it just fits me, it fits me.
My wife is a big part of it. You know, we look at it as, as we're missionaries,
she teaches second grade and she loves them little rascals in her class.
Like I love my players and she's went with me everywhere we've been.
(35:57):
And she doesn't complain, you know, she knows that it's my kids don't complain.
My boys have run around taking kids home with me forever, and they've gotten
to see some of the places that we've taken kids home to.
And it's kind of eye-opening, you know, and it kind of brought a different deal for them.
Like, you know, we're pretty blessed to have what we have and to live where we live.
(36:20):
And, you know, not all my teammates have that. And faith is a big part.
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that.
And, you know, we got really good FCA people here and chaplains.
And, and, you know, I, I just, I just think if it's outside of where God wants
you, I don't know that you're ever, you may have some success,
(36:40):
but I don't know that you'll be very significant.
And I don't know that you'll have a lot of joy, you know?
That's good success, but might not be very significant.
All right, coach, as we wrap it up, it's been great. What are,
what are two kind of codes, creeds, whatever that you, that you live by?
Like, obviously demand excellence is one for me.
(37:02):
Right um what are two things that are foundational for
you well so what we do is we say our
deal is crawl okay the c
is for commitment you know i tell our
kids all the time i think that's why the world is the way it is is men don't
don't know how to commit when things get hard they run right they run from their
(37:23):
responsibility they can't you know let your yes be yes your no be no if you
say you're You're going to be somewhere, be there. If you say you're going to do it, do it.
But, you know, being committed and then the R is for respect.
And that goes back to that deal I was talking about, black and white,
Republican and Democrat.
End of the day, man, it don't matter. Be respectful towards each other and understand
(37:45):
it's okay to agree to disagree, you know, but show respect and everything you
do and you'll always be okay. And then A is attitude.
Well, I used to say attitude and effort was the two things you can control,
but I don't think you'll have a very good effort. if your attitude is terrible.
So we talk a lot with our kids about controlling their thought process and.
(38:06):
About not reacting to every little thing that happens, but responding the correct way.
But that attitude is everything and everything you do in life.
You know, if you got a bad attitude towards it, it ain't going to be very successful, no matter what it is.
You know, the W is willingness, right?
You want to be a good husband, you better be willing to sacrifice.
(38:27):
You want to be a good daddy, you better be willing. I love football,
but my two little girls dance.
And so twice a year, they're going to have recitals. not exactly
where i want to hang out but my two babies love
it and so if i gotta fake it
i'm gonna act like it's the super bowl right i cannot wait
to go watch y'all dance you know because they love it and they
(38:48):
put their time and their effort into it and and they won't
they want to please me they want their daddy to be happy you
know and seeing them and stuff and so just be willing it's just
like being a great teammate you might play somewhere you don't want to
play for us to be be successful our nose guard was
200 pounds you know probably didn't have any business playing
down there but we sliced him and diced him and man third down
(39:09):
the state championship game the end of the game he made the sack that made
it like fourth and 30 you know because he was willing to do it not all guys
aren't willing but be willing to do it and then the the l is for love the greatest
commandment of all you know love will conquer all of it you know and just you
know love Love your teammates. We talk about being a great son.
(39:31):
Love your mom and daddy and honor
them and respect them and be who you're supposed to be. Love yourself.
We tell them our job as coaches is to love them, and their job is to love each other.
But what we talk about, that's our main deal is crawl.
We've got that plastered just about everywhere. Matter of fact,
our mayor gave me a proclamation in the key of the city, and he said that coffee
(39:54):
was a crawl community. community. So that was pretty cool.
Well, coach, it's been really awesome talking with you and just hearing about the impact.
Obviously you won the state championship, but just the impact that you're having
on the community and really the people don't even, might not even know it because
you don't proclaim it necessarily, but impact for Christ.
(40:15):
And so it's very cool to see. Would you mind if I pray for you as we head out?
That'd be awesome, coach. I appreciate it, brother. Yes, sir.
Lord, we're coming for you today. I just want to praise and thank you for loving
us, Lord. We praise and thank you for your son, Jesus Christ,
dying on the cross for our sins, Lord.
And it is so awesome to hear about what Coach is doing there in Coffey County
(40:35):
and just how you're using him in the community and building relationships,
not just with his players, but just the community and how you're using him to shine as a light.
Lord, I pray that he would just continue to be successful, continue to put you
first, and Lord, that you would just bless that community.
We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
(40:56):
Coach, thank you so much, man. Thank you, Coach. Appreciate it.
Yes, sir. All right. See you, brother.
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