Win Me A Championship Coach And I Will Give You Anything You Want!!!

Herron builds Camden County into one of the state’s elite teams
By Todd Holcomb
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kingsland —- If it’s the best coaching job in Georgia, as his closest friend insists, then give Jeff Herron some credit.
In 2002, his third season on the coast at Camden County High, Herron wanted a new weight room and took boosters to Brookwood, Parkview and Buford to spark some envy.
“My superintendent said, ‘Fine. You win a state championship, and we’ll see about getting it built for you,’ ” Herron said.
Herron delivered Camden’s first title in 2003.
The new weight room, finished in 2006, has 40 weight stations and space for a 40-yard dash in the middle. It’s housed in a $3 million complex that has a locker room for 200 players, a training room with four tables and a whirlpool and a theater room for watching film.
And Herron, 48, has continued to win games and supporters.
The former coach at Walton and Wheeler in Marietta who first won a state title in 1999 at Oconee County has found his treasure at Camden, where his record is 103-11.
He enters the state playoffs tonight as a region champion for the eighth consecutive time. Camden is 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class AAAAA.
“Coach is a well-liked person around here,” said Frank Smith, a Camden booster who hasn’t missed a game in 30 years. “The sheriff here says Jeff could run against him and whip him. And I don’t think anybody in Georgia has better facilities, including the Georgia Bulldogs.”
Herron agrees about those bells and whistles: “Ours are pretty dang-gum good,” he said.
Other amenities in Herron’s coastal empire include:
> A base salary of $98,822, third highest among Georgia coaches, and free use of a Chevy pickup that Herron can trade every 15,000 miles.
> An 8,300-seat stadium with FieldTurf and an $85,000 matrix scoreboard.
> Three practice fields.
> 220 players, 15 assistant coaches and two full-time certified athletic trainers.
> More victories this decade than any Class AAAAA school.
And with 2,956 students, Camden is Georgia’s largest high school that has no rivals in its district.
“That’s huge,” said Jim Dorsey, the retired McEachern coach who brought Herron to Georgia as an assistant 25 years ago.
The two are best friends who talk at least three times a week.
“He’s literally the only show in town,” Dorsey said. “I don’t see how there could be a better job in Georgia.
“I tell him, ‘Boy, you’re a fool if you ever leave that place.’ “
When Herron arrived in 2000, Camden had tripled in population in 20 years in large part because of the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, the eastern port for ballistic missile submarines. Established in 1978, it employs 9,000 of the county’s 48,000 residents.
The football teams were good but never a factor in the state playoffs.
Herron wasn’t looking to leave Oconee County but found an envelope from Camden on his desk after returning from a ski trip with Dorsey and other coaches in the 1999 offseason. Camden had sent one to every coach in the finals that year.
“What attracted me was there was only one high school in the county, the resources were there, and to everybody I met it seemed like football was so important,” Herron said.
The TD Club raises about $50,000 to $60,000 per year on memberships and sponsorships. There are 62 signs on the fence in front of the home stands of Chris Gilman Stadium, each space rented for $400 to $800. And there’s a waiting list to buy one.
It’s another $1,000 per game to sponsor the matrix board.
“We give him what he needs,” said Robert Dandeneau, the TD Club president and a retiree from the Naval base. “He doesn’t hurt for anything.”
That kind of booster revenue is not unusual for a school of Camden’s stature. What’s rare is the relationship between Camden and its parks and recreation department. The county owns the stadium and paid the $750,000 for the artificial turf last year.
Like all military communities, the school receives federal funds based on enrollment.
Herron believes the base is an asset financially but also for the families that it attracts.
“We have an element of our student body that is very worldly,” Herron said. “Their parents are driven and educated people with high expectations.
“It’s some of what you see in metro Atlanta, but not a whole school of that. Lots of kids here live out in the country.”
Herron’s career winning percentage is .834. That’s third among active Georgia coaches with at least 100 Georgia victories and fourth all-time.
He’s 59-0 against overmatched region competition that virtually guarantees Camden a No. 1 seed and home advantage in the playoffs each season.
A native of the western hills of Virginia, Herron won a state championship as a player at Gate City High under a famous coach, Harry Fry. Herron was a four-year starting defensive back at Division III Emory & Henry.
His first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech, where he met Dorsey and followed him to Paulding County and then to McEachern in Powder Springs.
“The thing about Jimmy that impressed me was he could find a way to get players to play hard; he taught me that was the important thing,” Herron said. “To do that, you’ve got to convince people that you care about them.”
With his success on the field, Herron has made his mark in the community for what he’s doing outside the lines.
Herron and his wife, Inka, have four children who have attended Camden schools, including Major, his quarterback last season. He’s playing at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Herron’s parents maintain their home in Virginia but live in Camden during the academic year to watch their grandchildren grow up. Herron is an only child.
A Christian, Herron forbids profanity among his players and coaches. He’s a disciplinarian who has suspended starters this season for breaking rules.
Two years ago, Herron approached his principal about a drug program. Camden students who drive on campus or participate in extracurricular activities are now subject to random drug testing.
Herron’s Champions in Life program, which he started four years ago, recognizes players for their character, regardless of their athletic performance. A banquet this week honored 48 of them, each needing letters of recommendation from two coaches and the approval of teachers.
“He gets up and praises parents for raising kids the way they do, and they appreciate that,” Dandeneau said. “The community loves Jeff to death, and they’ve adopted his family. I think that he’s almost become an icon in Camden County.”
HEAD OF THE CLASS
Georgia high school coaches with the best winning percentages:
Alan Chadwick, Marist ………..859 (268-44-0)
Larry Campbell, Lincoln County…852 (423-72-3)
Jeff Herron, Camden County…….834 (191-38-0)
Robert Davis, Westside-Macon…..829 (351-72-1)
Rich McWhorter, Charlton County .827 (207-43-1)
Note: Winning percentages are based on Georgia games only and include active coaches with at least 100 victories.
PAY TO COACH
The top salaries among high school coaches in Georgia:
Rayvan Teague, Carrollton..$114,221
Rick Tomberlin, Valdosta ..$104,430
Jeff Herron, Camden County..$98,822
Roger Holmes, Dublin……..$97,465
Frank Barden, Cartersville..$97,459
Note: Source of salaries is the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, using figures from Jan. 7, 2008. They do not include booster club supplements.
On ajc.com/sports: Keep up with tonight’s high school football playoffs and update your brackets.