[Beef]

I just want to say publicly on this forum how much I appreciate all the kindness that has been shown toward me during what has been a tough decision-making time.

I also wanted to take a chance to express the tru LOVE I have for the people that poured their heart and soul out for what I know was a very demanding program.

That means both players AND coaches AND boosters/parents. The best all-around staff I've ever been a part of -- without question. LOYALTY, WORK-ETHIC, PASSION FOR THE GAME, CHARACTER, and PUTTING KIDS-FIRST are all anybody needs to know as descriptors for these men. That goes for our definitely goes for our tremendously self-sacrificing booster leaders as well.

Fans/Community -- some have wondered if the "pressure applied by the community" drove me away. This has given me some good laughs...I am DEAD honest about this: 1) I came to Pikeville partly BECAUSE the people were passionate enough about the game TO criticize -- that's a GOOD by-product of something that is by no means a "problem!" and 2) the people of Pikeville -- from the Mayor to the school administrations to virtually EVERY players' parents to the media members to the HEART AND SOUL of the program (Snab!) never professed anything but 100% support of me and my "discipline-first" ways. Sure, there have been a couple of people on this board that didn't like how things were done (or, more likely, that it was ME that was hired in the first place), but the fact that they chose to be anonymous -- NEVER taking me up on several offers to come HELP the program from within rather than just criticizing from without -- always made me wonder their TRUE motives. Those that had true, heart-felt critiques of our on-the-field play are part of what goes along with choosing coaching as a profession -- and was ALWAYS taken by me to be "constructive" criticism! Nobody is a harder critic on a coach than the coach himself...any critique on here was already heard by me in my own self-critique following each game.

The student body outside the football team is one of the things I'll miss the most. That has a LOT to do with the INCREDIBLE leadership in establishing a great "school culture." Never a problem in the classroom. GREAT pep-rallies (I thought they'd died with the 50s before I came to Pikeville). Cheerleaders/pep clubbers that really CARE how their guys do on the field. And a faculty that doesn't just go to the games -- but really experience JOY when we win and GRIEF when we don't.

But above all, I can't say enough for the players that stuck it out with me. Some things have been said about "thus and so don't play because they don't like the head coach"...though I know I may not be the 'life of the party' to many, all of us on the inside know what this is "code" for. We know of about 4 or 5 that didn't like the COMMITMENT and STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR required -- on and off the field -- and found it easier to say it was a "personality" thing than what it really was. For every ONE of those though, we can also can identify TWO that dropped out initially but ended up coming back, bought in to the idea of commitment, and and made a HUGE contribution to our team's successes -- just like the "Prodigal Son" those guys were loved just as much as the ones that were there from the beginning! Everytime I read about those guys that quit, all it did was reinforce the LOVE I held for the ones that DID commit and became part of a bigger FAMILY that will always be there for them (you guys remember, I said ALWAYS).

It is with a heavy heart that I leave. There's a great opportunity to do special things where I'm going, but I know there are many things that can never be as good about where I've been. And if I am ever fortunate enough to ascend to great heights, I hope everyone here knows it is because I am standing on the shoulders of GIANTS.

Thank you,
Coach J. (C-C-C!)

Coach J,

This post is one of the biggest reasons that I regret not being able to watch you on the field or get to know you off (graduated year before you came). Your class really shows through!!

The hard work and required dedication was something that I really enjoyed seeing return to Pikeville on the grid-iron. As you mentioned, you didn't make life easy for the players, nor did you let some words that were said on boards such as this affect the way that you coached. I believe that the hard work that you and your staff put into the program as well as the work you required out of your players, has set PHS up for a bright future. It takes a coach like yourself to form a program from the ground up and the work you put into all levels of the Pikeville Football Program shows that you were the correct hire (at least in my view).

Best of luck up in Louisville and I hope to see you knocking off the powers that be and earning the ring. You deserve it.

Congrats on the new position!
-Beef