Cobb era restarts at SW Edgecombe [The Wilson Daily Times, N.C.]

Dec. 11--To say past the seven days have been hectic for Jonathan Cobb would be an understatement of epic proportions.

On Tuesday, Cobb and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their first child, Raymond Davis Cobb, into the world and on Monday, the 29-year-old capped the week he will remember for the rest of his life by being announced as the new football coach at his alma mater, SouthWest Edgecombe High. He will follow in the footsteps of his father, Raymond, who is considered somewhat of a coaching legend in these parts.

"I feel so honored that the administration here, the current players and the community together have given me this opportunity and believe in me as his replacement, because he has had an outstanding career," Jonathan Cobb, the Cougars' former junior varsity head coach, said during Monday's press conference at the school.

On hand were Edgecombe County Schools Superintendent John Farrelly, Edgecombe County Board of Education members Evelyn Johnson and Keith Pittman, SouthWest Principal Marc Whichard and athletic director Sandra Langley along with, of course, the elder Cobb.

"I think maybe all this has happened quicker than we've thought for this opportunity to come. I'm just happy and proud of him," said Raymond Cobb, who will retire from teaching at the end of January 2013.

Jonathan Cobb played junior varsity football at SouthWest, where he graduated in 2000, but he has spent his whole life learning the game from his father, who retires from coaching with 253 victories.

"I grew up in a football house," Jonathan Cobb said. "My love of the game comes from Coach Cobb. Everything I know about coaching I've learned from him. Words can't even describe how blessed and lucky I feel to be able to start right here at SouthWest and try to build on the foundation he's already put into place."

Of course, the new Coach Cobb will have a formidable resource at hand in his father, who assured he will still be part of the SouthWest football program.

"It's going to probably be a little behind the scenes to begin with," Raymond Cobb said. "I want to help in any way I can. I think he's got to take some time to put his staff together that he wants to put together. I think after he does that, maybe from there ... I'm going to help him in different ways."

GREATER LESSONS

The younger Cobb's journey to becoming the eighth coach in SouthWest history began when he joined his father's coaching staff there in 2004, when he was still a student at East Carolina University. It was Raymond Cobb's first season at SouthWest after 174 wins and a pair of state 1-A championships at North Edgecombe.

"Before that point in my life, I never aspired to be a teacher," Jonathan Cobb said. "I saw him come over here and rebuild a program here that had been down and it inspired me and I wanted to be a part of it."

The son acknowledged the job that awaits is "a tall order" and he has "big shoes to fill." Indeed, Raymond Cobb proved to be one of the top football coaches in the state over the course of his 25-year head coaching career. He won N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A titles in 1994 and 1997 and directed North Edgecombe teams to three other state finals and nine conference championships, compiling a 174-47 mark. In nine seasons at SouthWest, Raymond Cobb's teams went 79-32 and won the 3-A NEW 6 Conference title in 2006 and the 2-A Eastern Plains Conference crown in 2009.

While Jonathan Cobb may have learned the finer points of the wishbone offense or the offseason conditioning program from his father, the greater lessons that prepared him for this momentous career step are the ones that made Raymond Cobb such a success.

"His ability to communicate with kids effectively, build relationships with young people, be a father figure for some who don't have a father figure," Jonathan Cobb said. "I think a lot of this game, that's what it's all about -- what's in your heart and what's in your mind. If you have a leader who's good enough to glue everybody together and make them play for something larger than themselves, you have an opportunity to have something special.

"I think throughout his career, that's what he's been so good at doing and that doesn't really start anywhere near a football field. It starts on a Monday morning in February when you see a student walk in the door and how you interact with him. That in itself is what's enabled him to have a lot of success in his career."

That ability to understand that is what carried the younger Cobb through the interview process Saturday in the SouthWest media center, along with the four other finalists for the job parsed from a deep pool of applicants. The candidates met with members of the administration, the school board, the community and the football team.

"Creative ideas for the future, short-term goals, long-term goals," Langley ticked off the topics covered by Jonathan Cobb in his interview. "He's got a lot of passion for the game."

IMPRESSIVE RESUME

Jonathan Cobb also brings an impressive resume as the J.V. coach to the table, going 34-6 in four seasons from 2007-10 with two unbeaten seasons and a pair of conference championships. Cobb said his father gave him autonomy to run the J.V. program, which will help him as he moves to the varsity level. Cobb also spent a semester at ECU doing a football internship under then Pirates head coach Skip Holtz.

The biggest inspiration Jonathan Cobb received was spending the 2010-11 school year in a different line of work. The time he spent working in the insurance business, even with the potential for a much bigger paycheck, helped him decide coaching was what he wanted to do.

"It was the best thing I ever did because a month into the job I knew there was no place I wanted to be more than in a classroom or on the football field," said Cobb, who will teach physical education and coach boys golf at SouthWest.

"I can't imagine wanting to coach anywhere else in this state," he said. "It's home. The people I care about are in this community. They mean so much to me. I don't want to live anywhere else than southern Edgecombe County. I don't want to work anywhere else. So while there are challenges as long as filling those shoes, trying to do a great job here, trying to build a championship program, those are all things I'll meet head on because this is my home and I love it so much."

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