First Time At The Helm For Decatur High Coach

When Scott Jackson was named Decatur’s new head football coach last week, it culminated a journey spanning seven schools in 15 seasons as an assistant, several of those spent with some of this state’s tactical masters.

He’s been an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, secondary coach, running backs coach, coffee maker, go-fer, film breaker-downer and just about everything thing else one can do in a high school football capacity.

Before that he played two years as a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he graduated with an education degree in 1998.

Now at age 38 he finally gets his first crack as head man, succeeding close friend Brad Waggoner,  who went 5-5 in his only season at Decatur. Waggoner left last month to become head coach and athletics irector at Lumpkin County.

Decatur Athletics Director Carter Wilson and his search committee sifted through 90 resumes, slicing the short list to three, with Jackson the only non-head coach considered.

Jackson was last season’s offensive coordinator for a team returning more than 80 percent of its players. Wilson said that didn’t play a role in the committee’s decision.

“It’s a bonus that we hired someone all the kids know,” Wilson said. “But in the end he was hired because he was the best man for the job.”

Wilson hopes the school has found stability after five head coaches this decade. Decatur High has 22 sports but football is the economic engine.

That potential was evident last season where, despite a .500 record, gate receipts were up $10,000 over 2011.

“It’s the only sport where we can get 55 to 60 percent of the student body to turn out,” Wilson said. “Even on a bad night you have 2,000 people in the stands, which no other sport touches.”

Jackson grew up in Jefferson, Ga., and graduated from high school there in 1993. (Decatur girls basketball coach Bill Roberts is a Jefferson High alum.) Jackson earned an undergraduate degree in education from UGA, and in 2006 a masters in Educational Leadership from Jacksonville State University.

He began coaching at Northside Warner Robbins in 1998, and his apprenticeship with several of the state's top high school coaches was a major selling point for Wilson and his committee.

From 1999 to 2001 he worked at Sandy Creek under Rodney Walker, one of only 10 Georgia high school coaches to win 300 games (302-150-3 in 43 seasons).

Jackson said he learned most of his defensive philosophy from Walker, along with how to organize a program and “how to work seven days a week on the least amount of sleep.”

Jackson has spent nine of his 15 seasons as a defensive coordinator, but he doesn’t necessarily see himself as a “defense first” coach. He spent a good portion of his time on the defensive end, he said, “trying to figure out which offensive schemes are the hardest to defend, which ones I wanted to face the least.”

He said that in 2013 Decatur will spread the field and pass more. He has all three of his quarterbacks returning (two are juniors) along with his entire offensive line and a solid corps of running backs, adding that “we absolutely don’t want to be conservative.”

He believes rising junior fullback Demetrius Harris, along with rising seniors Kyle Kitchens (linebacker) and Noah Fisher (noseguard) are Decatur’s immediate Division I prospects.

He added that senior Nic Bentley and junior Tommy Renfroe--probably Decatur’s most exciting returning player, though hampered by injuries the last two seasons--will see more time at running back than last year.

“I do believe defense wins games,” Jackson said. “That was ingrained with Coach Walker. But I don’t want the defense to have to bail us out all the time. With the way that offenses have evolved, you better be able to score points.”

Jackson's other mentors were Frank Barden, 149-71-1 in 20 seasons, the last 18 at Cartersville where he won a state title; and Tim Glanton at East Paulding (now at South Paulding where he started the program.) 

“Coach Barden pretty much taught me how to relate to kids,” Jackson said. “Not only how you treat kids but how you help them become better people. Coach Glanton is the most organized and detailed person I’ve ever known. He was also a big believer, considering how many hours we work, in keeping your family involved, every day, every week.”

Jackson met formally with his team’s parents and players for the first time last Thursday. He’ll hold 10 spring practices the first two weeks in May, with three-days-a-week workouts in June and four days in July.

Five-day practices begin July 25 with a scrimmage, scheduled tentatively against Holy Innocents, on Aug. 16. The season opener is Aug. 30 at home against Grady.

“I see communication as the key to a successful program,” Jackson said. “Whether it’s the parents, kids, boosters or whomever, you have to communicate your long-term expectations and standards. The last thing you want is having them wondering from day to day what we are going to do next.”

The Scott Jackson Scouting Report

Age: 38

Hometown: Jefferson, Ga.

Education: Jefferson High (1993), University of Georgia (1998) and Jacksonville State University (Master in Educational Leadership – 2006)

Married: Tracie Jackson (2004).

Children: Two boys, Brayden 7, Carter 5.

Currently lives: Cartersville, a 50-minute commute.

Previous assistant coaching jobs: Northside Warner Robbins (1998); Sandy Creek (1999-01); Cartersville (2001-03); East Paulding (2003-06); Cedartown (2006-09); Chattooga (2009-2011); Decatur (2012).