We all knew the day would come when Rick Jones would no longer prowl the sidelines at Smith-Robinson Stadium on those special football Friday nights each fall when the Bulldogs played at home.
Since his arrival from Oklahoma in 2004, the ultra-successful head coach has firmly planted himself in the hearts of every GHS player and fan, so it seems appropriate that we learned of his resignation on Valentine’s Day last Friday.
While fans are still processing the news and coming to terms with the end of an incredible era of GHS football, we’re also filled with a deep appreciation for what Coach Jones has meant to our community and the hundreds of young men who have benefitted from his leadership and example over the past 16 years.
For anyone who hasn’t heard the details yet, Coach Jones accepted a position as a coaching consultant with the University of Missouri. Ironically, the Tigers’ new head coach, Eli Drinkwitz, is an Arkansas native and a graduate of Alma High School. Conspiracy, anyone?
All kidding aside, Coach Jones will be sorely missed, but no one can blame him for leaving. Having already turned down a lucrative job offer from close friend Gus Malzahn, head coach at the University of Auburn, and perhaps others in the past, Jones was entitled to leave Greenwood on his own terms and in his own good time.
Apparently last week the 2012 national high school coach of the year felt the time was right. When Jones and wife Mona arrived in Greenwood, they had small children, all now grown and pursuing college degrees and careers of their own.
Rick and Mona moved to Greenwood not just for a job, but to raise their children in the safe and peaceful environment of a small town with an excellent school system.
That describes Greenwood perfectly, and it was a match made in football heaven. The Bulldogs went 185-26 under Coach Jones, including eight state titles. Incredibly, every class under Coach Jones played in at least one state championship game before graduating.
The decision to leave Greenwood was difficult, said the coach. “I raised my kids here. Reagan was a first grader and Kevin was a second grader when we got here. It’s home. It’s the best place to coach in America.”
Drinkwitz was hired at Missouri last December and quickly reached out to Jones, who is well-known in both high school and college coaching circles. Jones’ overall record is 317-74 in both Oklahoma and Arkansas.
“When [Drinkwitz] got the job, he sent me a text and said he wasn’t going to do anything until after recruiting, but would I want to talk,” said Jones last weekend. “That’s how it went.”
Besides family and financial considerations, no doubt the decision-making process included the allure of coaching in the nation’s premiere college football league, the Southeastern Conference.
“It’s the opportunity,” said Jones. “I think it will be fun. I want to learn. It will be interesting. It’s the top level of college football. While I won’t be an on-the-field coach, I will be close enough that I can see how it goes, what they do, how they do it, and learn from it.
“I need to go learn a different way of doing things,” he continued. “That’s the main thing. I want to learn how they do it and see if I can figure out how to do it better.”
While at Greenwood Jones tutored six Division-I quarterbacks and developed an off-season speed and conditioning program (FASDOGS) that annually attracts over 500 participants and is now imitated across the state.
Actually, Jones is returning to Missouri after serving as an assistant coach at Southwest Missouri State for three years from 1992-94. The Missouri Tigers went 7-5 during the 2019 regular season but were unable to accept a bowl invitation due to NCAA sanctions against the school.
As for local reaction to Jones’ departure, Facebook and Twitter were rife with comments from GHS football fans despairing to see the coach go. But mingled with the disappointment and sadness was a profound sense of gratitude for what Jones accomplished at Greenwood and the positive impact he had on so many young men.
Brian Vaughn, founder of the Greenwood Dog Pound website, wrote, “We all enjoyed the wins and the championships, but if you were around the program or the players, you would know that Rick Jones’ impact at Greenwood was far more than [just] wins and championships.”
“I personally have heard from several former players on the impact [he] had on them. ‘Thank you’ just seems inadequate for what Coach [Jones], Mona, and his family has meant to all of us [in] Greenwood the last 16 years.”
Greenwood Athletic Director Dr. Dustin Smith said, “Rick has long been the standard in the state among football coaches. I can never put into words the impact he has made in so many lives, including my own.
“Rick has been an incredible ambassador for the Greenwood Bulldogs, and it will be impossible to totally measure his successes. He has been a friend, a mentor, a coach, and a voice of reason to so many. He will certainly be missed in Greenwood, but I am excited to follow this next chapter of his life.”
John Ciesla, Superintendent of Greenwood Schools added, “On behalf of the Greenwood School District, we are incredibly proud of the contributions that Rick and Mona have made to our football program, our school, and our community. We are excited for Coach Jones and his family and know he will make an immediate impact in his new position.”
Perhaps representative of hundreds of other players over the past 16 years, former GHS quarterback Luke Hales offered his take on Coach Jones and his legacy of building up young men, not just football players.
Hales, who went on to play college football, wrote on Facebook, “Coach Jones pushes every player he coaches right out of their comfort zone, [and] instills a mindset of the team comes first.”
According to Hales, Coach Jones also had a unique philosophy of life and football, which often mirrored each other. “The little things really are the big things,” wrote Hales, adding another Jones staple, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Greenwood didn’t always have the most talented team on the field, yet consistently beat teams with bigger, faster, and more physically gifted players.
“[He] believes in controlling what you can control – attitude and effort,” said Hales of his former head coach.
“Coach Jones is [also] forgiving. He has dealt with lots of [players] that made some bad decisions. [But] he never held a grudge. He knows that people can change. He supports his players and pushes them to become better men.
“Every day he puts his game face on and leads people in the right direction,” wrote Hales. [He] is the standard of excellence. Coach Jones never backs down from that challenge.”
What a legacy Jones leaves behind at Greenwood. We can only hope that the next Bulldogs’ head coach is just as committed to building character among his players as he is to winning football games.