Turning the Morehead program around

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: October 22, 2008

The Eden community had very high expectations for the Morehead High School football program this season. Over the years, the attendance along with community support has been great in coming out to a Friday night football game.
Down through the years, Morehead has had its share of football coaches—some had more success than others.
Just the past three years, the MHS football team had successes by making three straight appearances to the playoffs under the prior head coach, Mickey Crouch.
Now failure has set in in the Eden community and the football program under the new head coach Jason Smart. Coach Smart had coached at McMichael High School for approximately seven years, and with his winning track record you can count the number of wins on one hand.
History should show that NHS football team never started the season off with and a 0-8 record.
Now attendance is at its all-time low in more than 20 years. As a fan that loves and supports MHS football, I am hearing many negative comments about Coach Smart’s coaching abilities coming from fans sitting in the stands.
With this football season well on its way, it clearly shows who’s at fault for having a losing season. Looking back at McMichael High School’s past losing records under Smart, the Fighting Phoenix never had a good football season. Now under new head coach Gary Whitman from Lexington High School the Fighting Phoenix are having a winning program.
Coach Gary Whitman has taken Smart’s losing program at McMichael and has turned it into a winning program. It seems that the change in McMichael’s coaching staff, the player’s confidences and the love of the game is back, where MHS confidences and love for the game has dropped off.
Coach Smart has turned Crouch’s winning records at MHS into more of the same when he was at McMichael.
MHS had the opportunity to hire a successful coach with a winning track record but decided to hire Smart. Naming some of the coaches who applied for the head coaching job at MHS: Whitman, two coaches from Reidsville High School and Smart, just to name a few.
There was one successful coach at MHS by the name of David Bray who applied for the job but did not get an interview.
With the list of candidates for the head coaching job, it clearly shows that Smart was not the best candidate for MHS. The fans are wondering how Smart was the best candidate for the head coaching job at MHS over all the other successful coaches with a winning track record.
Did the administration make a mistake?
Did the MHS athletic director make a mistake?
Did the MHS principal make a mistake?
But the question is, who’s the blame for this losing season? Make no mistake about it; it’s not the football players. In order to have crowded football stands again on a Friday night, MHS has to make a change in their coaching staff.
Smart is a good guy, but MHS football and this community cannot take another losing season next year when Smart already had seven years of losing records at McMichael and one year at Morehead. The Eden community is asking for the school administration along with the principal to do the right thing in hiring MHS a coach who can turn this program around and place fans back in the stands to enjoy Friday night football and the players enjoying the game again.

Anthony Scales
Eden