Shane Wolford resigns as Jackson head coach

[BlizzardMan]

Maybe he could be more successful in another system. He will coach again someday.

[boilermaker]

Arno has made Alexander respectible since he has been there. The Spartans do not have the numbers the Ironmen do nor the talent. Arno would win now in Jackson .
Some of these posters are funny , Wolfords teams have done well IMHO. No lossing seasons, and I remember this past summer most (even me) saying they would be lucky to win 3 games .

[BlizzardMan]

I will not deny he has done a good job. I feel he was under too much pressure. He can't go out on the field and play the games.

[BuckeyeCAV]

What about Phillips?

[ironman02]

What about Phillips?

He was mentioned a couple times on page 1.

[ironman02]

I was just telling you that he had been mentioned. I thought that you were thinking no one had suggested him. Even when I try to be nice to you, you still act like this.

[attitude]

"Lack of talent" is a poor excuse. Jackson has the same type of kids year-in and year-out. The coach is never going to have a crop of blue-chippers to work with. They weren't there in the 90's either. He has to develop the kids and establish a winning culture. This is where the program has fallen short and it started prior to Shane's tenure. I wish Shane luck and I am glad he is passionate about devoting time to his family.

[Blackjack]

Attitude - I agree with you.

The program needs someone with experience outside Jackson County and some maturity.

[BuckeyeCAV]

"Lack of talent" is a poor excuse. Jackson has the same type of kids year-in and year-out. The coach is never going to have a crop of blue-chippers to work with. They weren't there in the 90's either. He has to develop the kids and establish a winning culture. This is where the program has fallen short and it started prior to Shane's tenure. I wish Shane luck and I am glad he is passionate about devoting time to his family.

attitude,

Great post and insight. I agree with that. It's going to take more. Like development, mentoring, beefing up the non-league schedule that will prepare Jackson for the likes of Logan, Chillicothe, Portsmouth and Gallipolis each year. If Ironton and Zanesville was staying, I would add them to that list to. Only Marietta and Warren in the present SEOAL make-up will Jackson have an opportunity to win on a yearly basis against.

[ironman02]

attitude,

I agree that the development of the talent that is there needs to be improved. Someone who has coached elsewhere with a broader knowledge of the game is something that Jackson should definitely seek. The old style of Ironmen football is something that is most likely not going to work at this time, unless Jackson is completely physically superior to their opponents, and that is not the case right now.

I also think that Jackson does have similar kids to what they usually have. The overall talent level, however, has been hurt by the lack of depth in the program. The number of kids participating is very low right now and an increase in those numbers is very important to the success of the program. I do think that we have seen teams in the past, especially during the 90s, that had a few outstanding players who raised the level of play for the entire team. Jackson hasn't really had a gamebreaker type of player recently, at least not since Jared Humphreys, but that's not necessarily a determining factor in a program's success. When I say that the talent level isn't what it once was, I don't mean it as an insult to the current players and I don't mean that there isn't talent there to be developed. I just mean that the overall depth is not there, which means that the talent level across the board is not as high.

[attitude]

02,

Good points. But the reason the numbers are down is, in part, to the overall culture of the program and the school system. It is extremely complicated for any of us "outsiders" to grasp when you are not involved with the kids, coaches, and teachers on a daily basis. But my point is that, if a coach is going to turn this program around, he is going to have to have some tremendous qualitites and experience relative to what it takes to build character, trust, and loyalty throughout the program. Jackson has been in this position before. Things will turn around.

[ironman02]

02,

Good points. But the reason the numbers are down is, in part, to the overall culture of the program and the school system. It is extremely complicated for any of us "outsiders" to grasp when you are not involved with the kids, coaches, and teachers on a daily basis. But my point is that, if a coach is going to turn this program around, he is going to have to have some tremendous qualitites and experience relative to what it takes to build character, trust, and loyalty throughout the program. Jackson has been in this position before. Things will turn around.

Very well said. I agree completely.

[Blackjack]

Attitude - you are all over this, couldn't agree with you more !!!!!!!

[Charles Farquar]

Attitude I do not know how old you are or what deluded idea you have about Jackson football but this is what little bit that I know. During the 1950s you had the Gene Slaughter Era and here are some things about that. The Atomic Plant was booming, Manpower was a big complex and even one of the iron furnaces was still going. New families were moving in and housing had to be built to accomodate them. Nelsonville was in the league, Athens had not consolidated with Chauncey or the Plains, Pomeroy and Middleport were league schools and so on and so on. Jackson had the largest student body in the league. Jackson was in the same position that Logan sits in the League today. They should have dominated the league at that time. Then there was a 9 win 1 tie season in 1969. Ok lets talk about the last 35 years of football since the mid 70s to get a bigger overall picture. So what is the mark of a successful football coach at Jackson according to the know all current expert fans, lets say it must be a 8 or more win season . How many of those have there been in that 35 year period? Jackson has had just 12 of those in 35 years, 9 of those came in the 10 year period between 1994 and 2004. Another thing you are wrong about is that the talent in the 90s was the same as the talent today. The two years of 96-97 may be the best back to back classes that Jackson will ever have. The 98 team may have been the strongest weightroom team in memory. Jared in 2004 was an exceptional athlete who could change the course of a game on his own. I dont know what the record in 2003 and 2004 would have been without him. I dont see any Humps walking the halls of Jackson right now. So what am I getting at, there has been some kind of an attitude developed at Jackson that football did not start until the mid 90s , that those years were an example of the common state that Jackson Football is always in, that there was some tradition of 8-2 seasons or better all the time and if a coach didnt measure up to that , he was not a good coach because that was the way it always has been. It has not always been that way. Good coaches at Jackson like Shane have motivated their teams to win games they probably should not have won in the years following the golden 90s, Mount Healthy 03, Withrow 04, Ironton 05 and Chillicothe 06. jackson teams were out talented but still through the hard work of the coaches and the players managed to win those victories that they should not have. Some of the people on here have no idea of the hours spent and the work done to achieve some of it.The thing that always burned me was that that very little was ever said to coaches like Shane when they did a great job but a lot was said to criticize when things didnt go like experts in the stands thought it should. As a motivator I think Shane was a great motivator, he poured emotion and everything he had to motivate his players. Yes everyone is entitled to his opinion but I think a lot of those opinions should be weighed with the knowledge that the people giving them are not there day in and day out with the team. They dont know what the kids can and cant do, some of them may be a little prejudiced about certain kids and have unrealistic ideas of their true abilities. They dont know how many hours the coaches have spent preparing and it is a heck of a lot easier to make your calls from the stands after a play than the 25 seconds during. Here is another news flash this league is not the same one that was there in the past it does nor resemble the one before 2005, great years in the league for Jackson will be 6-4 and 7-3 will be outstanding whould the league even last. You know what playing strong competition does not make you a better team if your players are not as talented as the opposition, you can win some games you probably shouldnt every now and then but most of the time your going to get beat, Shane from what i know you did a good job, you did the best job you could do. Shane here is one guy that is pretty proud of what you did.

[JabbatheDel]

OHHH NOO!! You guys ticked off Charles Farquar. See, he's like an alligator, just under the water waiting to strike an unsuspecting gazelle or polar bear!

I agree with him though. Sometimes even when a coach is stuck with a bunch of steak-eaters, he can make them world-beaters...

[Charles Farquar]

How is that baby Jabba? I hope everything is going good for you.

[JabbatheDel]

Thanks for asking Charles. Everything is fine. He's starting to sleep through the night, so that's a major victory for us! HA!

How's everything going in the Farquar house? No people with nose rings stopping by I hope.

[attitude]

Charles,

You don't have to defend Shane against my comments. I like him and wish he were still coach.
You talk about the heroic weightroom performances of those mid 90 teams...were those kids born with that, or were they developed through the program? I don't recall too many playing D-1 ball. But there were some fine players. I just feel that it was due to them being brought up in a strong program.
Nah, I don't have deluded ideas about jackson football, but I apparently touched your nerve. Quite frankly, I find it comical that people get so wrapped up in this stuff. And I'm probably much older than you think...just not as wise I guess.

[D Owens]

he's like an alligator, just under the water waiting to strike an unsuspecting gazelle or polar bear!

Where is this place where alligators and polar bears coexist and why can't they get along?

[hbk2016]

Romeo Crennel?
Marvin Lewis?
Charlie Weis?