Alligood builds impressive staff, but that's only the start: Eagles like Eagle fans haven't seen

April 2, 2020 Central Georgia Sports Report

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

When Chad Alligood was announced as Northside’s new head football coach in the middle of January, he was amped.

Amped, yes, to go through the hiring process. Amped to prepare a conditioning plan, a spring practice plan.

Amped to be in charge of the team, the players, and the program he had grown to love upon joining for the first time two decades ago.

Plenty of work, but man, August camp would be here in no time, and the dream program he would have in place at his dream program could put it on the field.

“We’re going 100 miles an hour,” Alligood said. “Everything’s going good, some new things are being put in place. Weight room’s in place, 120 kids involved with the varsity, you’re hiring a great staff. The momentum is just going. … We’re going to look different, more different) than Northside has ever looked on offense.”

“All of a sudden: bam. You hit a brick wall.”

The circumstances of the nation’s quasi-shutdown notwithstanding, Northside had become a different program in less than two months before things stopped.

The Eagles are still a program of familiar faces. The vast majority of Alligood’s colleagues on the staff he left to be head coach at Washington-Wilkes in 2017 and 2018 are still on the staff (minus Chris Reeves and Tyler Kinsler).

But 2020 was going to be a year of change at a program that’s not known for change, long before our world came to a standstill.

Less than a month after Alligood was officially appointed to replace Kevin Kinsler came the first kaboom: A coach whose entire career had been spent on the college level in five states was Alligood’s first hire.

Casey Vogt had been at Mercer since the program was reinstated in 2013, but was without a job after the dismissal of head coach Bobby Lamb after last season.

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Alligood had his first Northside defensive coordinator.

“It was just a good fit,” said Alligood, citing Vogt’s never-empty tank. “He wanted to stay in Middle Georgia. He likes it here. We got to talking, and things just worked out.

“I’m gonna tell ya’, he has transformed us in so many ways…. His energy and his attention to detail of installing our defense and making it where all our kids and coaches know what’s going on is second to none.”

The second addition was just as big an eyebrow-raiser.

Shane Sams left the offensive coordinator job at Warner Robins to become head coach at Centennial, which was 23 games under .500 in 23 seasons. And 13 months later, he was back in the International City.

At Northside. With a background different than what the Eagles were used to: a fair amount of passing.

Not to say that the Eagles will come out in 2020 looking like 1995 Steve Spurrier has a Northside visor on, but it is safe to say that they will progressively display a more open offense than any of these players have seen.

The Sams hire was big for Alligood, who learned more about delegating in his first head coaching job, and knew his overall goals with Northside – as well as athletics director duties - may mean less Xs and Os than he’s ever been used to. Alligood said the overall job prevented him from as much time with the offense as he wanted. And then he looked at the Eagles in 2019.

“I see some things that I’m not sure that I helped us with or got any better with,” Alligood said. “Taking over a program this size, I’m not sure I’m the guy to make us who we need to be on offense.”

The self-proclaimed self-evaulator decided he needed to just hand over the keys to the offense.

“I said we must’ve looked pretty bad on offense if I fired myself,” Alligood said. “I had to find that guy that I trusted.”

Alligood said he’s been calling plays for 15 years, so trust was a huge part of his search for an offensive coordinator, as well as the desire for somebody with big-time and/or big-game experience. Conversations between Alligood and Sams grew from general Xs and Os as Alligood did some brain-picking.

“I just threw it out there one day,” Alligood said. “ ‘Hey, instead of me asking you, why don’t you come run this thing?’ That kind of caught him off-guard.”

A variety of upper-level administrative changes at Centennial inspired Sams more to consider a move after a rough 0-10 season.

“One thing led to another and I was able to hire him,” Alligood said. “Just like Vogt, his energy and attention to detail are second to none that I’ve ever been around.”

Twiggs County grad and former Veterans assistant Devonte Butler came in from Centennial, and then, within a day or two of each other, Rod Harris of Houston County and Ted Belflower of Hawkinsville joined the staff. Harris, who worked with Alligood at Perry, is one of the secondary coaches and Belflower will handle tight ends and help with tackles.

The joining returning assistants Mark Estes (running backs), Reggie Thorpe (inside receivers), Kelvin McDavis (offensive line), Daniel Sayles (secondary), Lee Pope (defensive line), Dyron Adams (outside linebackers), and Sam Said (director of operations).

How much have things changed?

Well, Northside has an inside receivers coach and an outside receivers coach. Two receivers coaches. At Northside.

Forget about saying this isn’t your grandfather’s Northside. This may not be your older brother’s Northside.

Alligood wants to broaden the horizons of his players from beyond the narrow mental confines of football and high school, with “Life Wednesday” – bringing in an outsider to talk about the world outside of and beyond football and high school – as well as encourage higher standards from players for more than football, like dressing better. It was something Alligood wanted to do at Washington-Wilkes, but logistics and staff, among other things, made it difficult.

The program has expanded its social media presence with more graphics and postings, and the current situation has forced Northside – like thousands of other teams – to dive into a different level of technology than just tablets and plays, with staff meetings and player meets on Zoom, an online meeting app.

Alligood wants to keep communication with players as strong as possible, which means – much, most likely, to the chagrin of the teens – more than just texting, conversations showing more interest than texting.

The schedule? Fairly absurd.

Northside opens with Veterans, a program that’s a chunk better than the one that last in 2012-13 by a combined 101-0 to the Eagles.

Then comes perennial state contender Peach County in Fort Valley, Howard, and rival Warner Robins, after a week during which last year’s result will be all over the meetings and practice.

Region 2-6A champ and semifinalist Richmond Hill on the road is next followed by a visit from Colquitt County and former Jones County head coach Justin Rogers and then Luella (Class 4A playoff team), and then region games against Valdosta, Lee County, and Houston County.

The only team with a losing record (4-7 Luella) made the playoffs. The opponents’ record in 2019? A whopping 60-26 record, 69.8 percent.

That’s a full belly of a schedule for a program in transition in many ways. Of course, playing that schedule is more than just the four months away until it – hopefully – starts. Alligood’s situation is the same as thousands upon thousands of others, so he’s not grumbling much. Football returns when football returns, and when people don’t jeopardize lives by showing up in groups – like a vacant field to work out. He knows players are bored.

“They don’t understand the severity of it,” said Alligood, awaiting the real start of his dream job. “ ‘Guys, the quicker we can isolate ourselves, the quicker we can get out of this.’”

And back to football, and the new edition of football at Northside.