The best — and toughest — high school football jobs in the Midlands? A breakdown
It’s transition season for seven high school football programs in the Midlands who have hired, or are looking to hire, new head coaches.
Dustin Curtis left A.C. Flora to coach at Upstate powerhouse Dorman. Westwood High School’s Matt Quinn announced Wednesday that he’s stepping down after three seasons. Also Wednesday, Newberry High revealed that defensive coordinator Cedrick Jeter would succeed Phil Strickland as the Bulldogs’ new coach.
That’s just a snippet of the local movement in and around Columbia and Lexington schools. And it’s all normal, as coaches move on for one reason or another in the few months that follow teams’ seasons wrapping up in November and December. It’s a local version of the “coaching carousel.”
With that in mind, The State set out to assess the allure of the more than 30 local high school head football coaching jobs. Which ones are the most desirable? Conversely, which ones are the toughest? And for each of those seemingly opposing groups — why?
Here’s what our reporters came up with, plus additional commentary from local coaches about the jobs right now in the Midlands.
THE 5 TOP LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL JOBS
How we defined this: It’s a combination of pay, facilities, community support and recent success. History plays some role, but it’s mostly about the job’s appeal right now and in the near future. If the job came open today, which schools would attract the best candidate pool? Would experienced and/or successful coaches be attracted to that job? In short, which high school jobs, right now, are the most desirable locally?
— The State high school sports editor Lou Bezjak’s Top 5 jobs, in alphabetical order —
▪ AC Flora: The Falcons have been one of the programs on the rise the past five seasons, winning the state title in 2020. They lose head coach Dustin Curtis, but there’s a lot of talent in the program and support from the Forest Acres community is always strong. New upgrades to Memorial Stadium and turf at the on-campus practice facility help.
▪ Brookland-Cayce: The Bearcats have enjoyed success under Rusty Charpia in the past decades with several deep postseason runs. B-C has a nice, modern stadium with new upgrades to the weight room and coaches offices.
▪ Chapin: One of the fastest-growing schools in the Midlands. The Eagles were a one-time Class 2A program and are now in 5A, the state’s largest classification. The facilities also will be getting an upgrade with an addition to stadium as well as other amenities
▪ Dutch Fork: Tom Knotts’ arrival at the school more than a decade ago has made the Silver Foxes the top program in the area and the state. Dutch Fork has won six state championships and played for three others. The standard Knotts has set will be almost impossible to replicate, but the tradition has been established. It is the only job in Lexington-Richland 5 where the coach is also the athletic director.
▪ River Bluff: The fact that this is one of the newest schools in the area is a big factor in the job’s allure. To be honest, most programs in Lexington 1 are desirable because of the pay and the fact the football coach is also the athletic director. The facilities at River Bluff are top-notch, the Gators have had recent success and the feeder programs seem to be in good shape.
— The State high school sports contributor Chris Dearing’s Top 5 jobs, in alphabetical order —
▪ A.C. Flora: The recent success of the Falcons is a big reason why they’re listed here. They won a state championship in 2020 and seem to be a program that has sustainability. Despite the fact they don’t have an on-campus stadium and must share one with rival Dreher, community support is one of the strongest in the state. Richland 1 also compensates coaches well.
▪ Dutch Fork: You might call this the premier coaching job in the state. Let’s start with the fact the Silver Foxes won five straight state titles before being dethroned by Gaffney this past season. You also can add in a six-figure salary. The facilities aren’t the nicest in the Midlands, but they’re more than adequate than a lot of high schools in the state.
▪ Hammond: If success and winning tradition matter, Hammond has to be on the list. The Skyhawks recently won their fifth straight SCISA Class 3A title and have won 13 state championships since 2006. The bleachers at Edens Stadium are packed each week, but an upgrade in facilities could make this spot even more attractive.
▪ Ridge View: A brand-new, state-of-the-art, on-campus football stadium — plus a solid depth of athletes — all make Ridge View very attractive. The support from coaches and other members of the community is outstanding. The lone drawback could come in the form of lack of support among students.
▪ River Bluff: Facilities and community support alone make this an attractive job. The Gators have tasted some recent playoff success but could make this one of the best jobs in the state with a better winning tradition. The salary is likely in the six-figures range, so that is attractive as well.
— What local high school coaches said about the top jobs —
Coaches were allowed to provide anonymous feedback about the local job scene.
▪ Dutch Fork: “Best combination of support, resources, facilities, and balance of athletes” ... “Facilities, Support, Pay, Tradition, ability to win.”
▪ AC Flora: “Great people, facility improvement, community is second to none, and balance of athletes.” ... “Because of facilities and what seems to be a tight admin team from the outside looking in. They value sports and take pride in them.”
▪ Gray Collegiate: “Ability to recruit and bring in players, school day that is set up for success in athletics with online classes that allow more time for workouts and practices.”
▪ Lexington 1 schools: “Because of pay, resources, number of football coaches and facilities.”
▪ Richland Lexington 5 schools (Irmo, Dutch Fork, Chapin): “Because of pay, number of football coaches and facilities. Resources, MS feeder programs feed into their schools.”
▪ Ridge View: “I would say facilities, and they have a system over there. It seems like admin and the school are connected and they value sports and education equally.”
▪ River Bluff: “Best facilities, athletes improving, great financial support.”
▪ Spring Valley: “Facilities, good pay, best athletes in the area.” ... “Facilities, tradition, getting players into college, academics magnets and other programs.”
▪ Westwood: “Has potential being so new. Facilities are nice, but I think this school with their student body has room to grow. They have pride and a sense of community.”
▪ White Knoll: “Facilities, good pay, has never hired a top-flight coach with quality assistants, so low expectations.”
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THE 5 TOUGHEST LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL JOBS
How we defined this: For toughest job, it might be related to pay, facilities, community support and recent success. History plays some role, but it’s also mostly about the job’s appeal right now and in the near future. If the job came open today, which schools would attract the best candidate pool? Would experienced and/or successful coaches be attracted to that job? In short, which schools are the toughest to win or find consistent success at right now?
— The State high school sports editor Lou Bezjak’s 5 toughest jobs, in alphabetical order —
▪ Columbia: Like many Richland 1 schools, football has been a struggle lately. Eau Claire also has had its share of issues, with the biggest being that the number of athletes is down.
▪ Dreher: The football emergence of rival A.C. Flora has definitely made this job tougher. Dreher is known for its academics and basketball, but the school hasn’t matched that success on the football field.
▪ Richland Northeast: The Cavaliers have won in the past, but schools popping up in Richland 2 have taken away a lot of students. RNE does have a new stadium and facilities. Coach Walt Wilson has history of turning programs around and could have the team trending in the right direction.
▪ Swansea: The Tigers enjoyed success under hall of fame coaches Doug Bennett and Doug Maddox, but they have struggled over the past few years while other Lexington County schools such as Gilbert and River Bluff have thrived.
▪ White Knoll: The pay is definitely not an issue here, as Lexington 1 does a good job compensating its head coaches (who also serve as athletic directors). Lack of tradition is a big thing, and the Timberwolves competing with other Lexington 1 schools River Bluff and Lexington doesn’t help.
— The State high school sports contributor Chris Dearing’s 5 toughest jobs, in alphabetical order —
▪ Cardinal Newman: It’s been hard for the Cardinals to keep up with Hammond, Heathwood Hall and Ben Lippen in football. They’ve won once in the last two years, even though the community supports the program rather well. The new on-campus stadium is nice, but the results on the field need to match everything else.
▪ Columbia: The Capitals have won 20 total games in the last eight seasons and must travel a good distance from campus to play home games. That limits community support, and it’s no longer attractive to be a Columbia football player.
▪ Eau Claire: Since the start of the 2010 season, Eau Claire has only won 16 football games — one in the last three seasons. The Shamrocks don’t have a home field they call their own, and support is limited at best. Getting the right mix of kids out for football has been a struggle for over a decade now.
▪ Lugoff-Elgin: Since the beginning of the 2018 season, Lugoff-Elgin has won seven games. The community support is there when the team wins, but that hasn’t really happened since the 2017 season. The facilities are a little outdated and could use some improvements all the way around.
▪ Swansea: It’s hard to believe a program as tradition-rich as Swansea makes this list. But the Tigers have fallen on hard times and have only 13 total wins in the last five seasons. That includes one win in each of the last two years. Community support has waned, and it’s not the same as when they were winning state titles regularly in the 1990s.
— What local high school coaches said about the toughest jobs —
Coaches were allowed to provide anonymous feedback about the local job scene.
One coach simply said: “It is uncomfortable targeting a school as a ‘bad job’. Everything is what you make of it. But, obviously schools that are seen as not having resources and poor community support are tougher places to be successful.”
▪ RNE: “Least popular school in a shrinking zone, within a district that has choice going into 9th grade.” ... “Lack of everything but stadium.”
▪ Eau Claire: “Extremely tough rebuild and goes through too many coaches.” ... “Lack of support, ability to win.”
▪ Eau Claire, Columbia, and CA Johnson: “I would group them all together. There is no pride, no sense of community. Funding is a major issue and lack of a budget for head coaches to work with. Three schools with potential to be great but major social issues have them all limited.”
▪ Airport: “No recent success and in a competitive region.”
▪ White Knoll: “Difficult to match up with teams in their region with players.”
▪ AC Flora: “Can be successful but outside pressure has resulted in 4 different head coaches in 8 years.”
▪ Dreher: “Shandon doesn’t support Dreher like Forest Acres does Flora, but the general expectation is that is should be similar. Dreher is a good school for a lot of sports, but constantly lives in Flora’s shadow.”
▪ Pelion: “Devoid of athletes, no community support, poor tradition.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
