I hate this for the Northeast Guilford Rams and their football program, but I have to say this is a big pickup for the Southeast Guilford Falcons and their overall athletics program…
When I first heard the news, my heart and stomach both sunk for Northeast Guilford, but when I saw in that press release, that Coach Earl Bates will not only be the new head football coach at Southeast Guilford High School, but he will also be the new head boys Track and Field coach, that was a game-changer….
I wish for the sake of the NEG Rams, that they still had their coach, but for the SEG Falcons, they have a gold-mine in the making…
This former ‘Cat/Eastern Guilford Wildcat is fast…At least he was VERY fast back in his day, and he can teach that same speed and quickness to his football players and track athletes at Southeast Guilford High School…He ran track and played high school football at Eastern Guilford High School, and he is still one of the top football and track athletes to ever come out of Eastern Guilford High School…Pretty sure he ran the 400 meters at EG and then went on to play both football and ran track at Western Carolina Univeristy…He is a former Catamount, if my ancient history serves me correctly…
Sure SEG has a very good new football coach, but the Track part is the super-extra part of the equation….He doesn’t really have to go out there and show you how to run, now at his advancing age, but he can tell running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs, linebackers and even quarterbacks how to run, and he knows it so very well…This man, Earl Bates, knows what is going on, when it comes to running and teaching running….
Eastern Guilford has a fine new football coach folks, but his running work and background, that is the “Ace in the Hole”….
He has been successful everywhere he has been….In high school, at Eastern Guilford HS, in college at Western Carolina…In coaching at Reidsville HS, Morehead HS, Southern Guilford HS, Northeast Guilford HS, and now he will be successful at Southeast Guilford HS….SEG has one of the top running backs in the state of North Carolina, in Jalen Fairley, and Fairley went for around 1,800 yards last season on 241 carries, with 12 TD’s, if my memory serves me correctly and let me tell you something, he is about to get even better, much better in 2020, with Earl Bates coaching him…
I am a runner myself, and do a lot of walking too, and when I come back in from the road, I am looking for something and when I found this news, my first reaction was sadness for the NEG Rams, since they have become a “dropping off point” for coaches, instead of a “Destination”…But when I saw Earl Bates will be coaching Track at SEG, along with his head football duties, my feeling turned to excitement for the SEG Falcons…
If you are a Falcon, you have to excited today/tonight…
(I have been all over the county, and have seen pretty much everything going on, all over the county for the last 45 years, and this is a very good move for Southeast Guilford High School, right here.)
**********Here is the word from Email, that I saw when I got back home from the trail tonight…**********
Southeast High School
Dr. Mark Seagraves
Principal
Home of the Falcons
from the Southeast Guilford High School Athletics Department and Athletic Director Shawyn Newtron on April 2, 2020:
Southeast Guilford Athletics would like to announce Earl Bates as the new head football coach of the Falcons. He is a Western Carolina graduate; Coach Bates has coached football and track. He has succeeded in furthering his student athletes both on and off the field in their athleticism, academic success, and positive character.
Coach Bates is a Guilford County native who has spent the last three years as Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator at Northeast Guilford High School. Under his direction the Rams finished in 2nd place in the Mid-State 3A conference with a 10-3 record. Coach Bates was named the 2019 conference coach of the year.
Prior to Northeast Guilford he spent one year at Southern Guilford High. During his time at Southern Guilford, his team finished 12-3, advancing to the fourth round of State Playoffs. He was named Conference Coach of the Year. He spent the previous five years at Morehead High School in Eden, NC.
Coach Bates has an extensive background in football, his previous 20 seasons were spent at 2A powerhouse Reidsville High School as their wide receiver coach. He was part of the staff that won the 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009 State Championships.
Coach Bates has high expectations for students to strive for excellence, not only by improving their physical ability, but also by displaying respectful behaviors and improving academic growth. He has coached several student-athletes that have gone on to play in the Shrine Bowl, East-West game, College Football and the NFL.
With the support of his loving family, wife Jennifer and son Braylon, Coach Bates would like to develop long term relationships within the Southeast community and demonstrate his commitment to building strong leaders for the future through programmatic changes he has put in place to improve the overall football program by instilling a system of accountability, commitment, and perseverance.
In the Essence of Falcon Pride, please help us welcome Coach Bates and his family to the nest.
************************************************************************************************************************************
There are Two Sides to every Coin:Southeast Guilford has a new football coach/Northeast Guilford is looking for a new football coach again(Earl Bates from NEG is the new head football coach at SEG)….
Let me go back to my opening statement and say, every coin has two sides. The front is called “heads” and, from early Roman times, usually depicts a country’s head of state….(Like the head football coach.) The back is called “tails”. a term possibly originating from the British ten pence depicting the raised tail of a heraldic lion/Ram….This time around SEG got heads and NEG got tails, and we will see which this story turns as we progress ahead into the new football seasons….
Just trying to tie all of our points together with a ‘message of the day’…..
Andy,
Do you have a list of possible coaches interested?
Who would you put on your short list of candidates?
Chris Suggs would be a great candidate if he is ready to do this and take over…Coach Suggs is never going any place, you would have to set him on fire and run him off of the Northeast Guilford school property to get rid of him…
But he may be too early in his coaching career to take on this job…He has been at Northeast Guilford High School his entire life and he deserves a crack at the head job some day…He has been running the JV program at NEG and been a varsity assistant in recent years…
Jared Rolfes, from Page High School, has not landed a permanent coaching gig yet, and he should be coaching somewhere…No matter how it ended going down at Page, he can coach….And with Trevon Hester at runningback for two more years, that’s a 1,000-yards plus rusher right there, and Hester will lead your running game and that should be good for 5-6 wins a year over the next two years, based his running alone…Add in a solid QB, with some sort of air game and you might be ready to take that 5-6 wins and make that 7-8 wins a season, and I’ll take that…
A WILD CARD would be Coach Lippard…Not sure where he is these days, but when he was at NEG, he was bought into that program, and why not bring him back if he wants to come back….
Another fairly good coach that we know is available is Brandon Wiggins, who ran the Smith High School program for a few years…He did not have a full cupboard of talent at Smith, but he would be seeing a whole lot more prospects at NEG….
Coach Wiggins knows defense and the LB spot, as good as any coach around…
Coach Adam Clay, who was with Coach Tinsley at SEG, was a very solid assistant coach at SEG and he was once the head coach at Western Guilford…He may be part of the crew that took off to Mallard Creek with Coach Tinsley, and if so, he would not be available…
Coach Suggs, Coach Rolfes, Coach Lippard, Coach Wiggins, Coach Clay, and if I think of any more, I will add them the list….
I’m sure others will come to mind, but for now that is what I have working for you…
Others may know of other options, if so, spread them around….
NEG deserves a top-notch head football coach…They are a school that works hard, and they are great people out there on Hicone Road…
A couple of Middle School coaches who might show interest are coach Quincy Bell, from Kernodle Middle and coach Joey McGinnis…Coach McGinnis is a current assistant coach at Southwest Guilford HS and Coach McGinnis, is the former head football coach at Southwest Guilford Middle School…
Coach Bell has a son who should be ready to start at QB on the high school level in about 2-3 years and Coach Bell is a former assistant coach at Northeast Guilford…
Coach McGinnis’ son should be ready to start on the varsity level this coming 2020 season and would be starting for the Southwest Guilford Cowboys this upcoming season and if his dad was interested and got the job at NEG, he would probably have a very good shot to be the Rams’ starting QB…
I came up with a lot of options for you and this is Option Football Coaching Searching 101….
Good luck on the search and we will keep more names in mind for you….
You have Trevon Hester coming back at runningback and I can’t think of a better starting place for the new NEG head football coach….
Let the search/process begin…..
In talking with Coach Bell, he hopes to eventually return to the High School level as an assistant head football coach…And son is QB, but he plays wide receiver and DB…QB Bell, and for right now, QB in name only…
I agree with the names on your list.
There is no doubt that Coach Suggs bleeds navy and white and has been an asset to the NE program for many years. I agree he deserves a shot at head coach and would like to see him take that next step in his career if it is the right time for him and his family.
Coach Rolfes is an interesting name as I think he could bring some value and knowledge to the Rams. I know Rofles likes to throw the ball a little more and I am not sure what the QB situation for the Rams will be with Wilson graduating
I would think Lippard coming back to NE would be a stretch, but I wouldn’t rule anything out with him.
I would be interested in what Coach Wiggins could do with a RB like Hester but he may be in the same boat as Smith with NE graduating as many seniors as they did this year, he may be searching for numbers like at Smith
I don’t think Coach Bell and Coach McGinnis are ready to make the jump to the High School head jobs yet, but I think they could be valuable assistants to any staff.
Another name to throw out there, while I don’t think he is ready for a high school head job yet, is Ryan Fulk. Fulk has been the middle school coach at NE Middle for the past 2 years and has done a great job with that program, even winning a conference championship in his first year. He was an assistant at NE Middle while Trevon Hester was dominating at the middle school level for 2 years and I think Fulk may be itching to get to the next level, especially as an alumni of NEGHS. He may have some inside knowledge with Hester that could diversify their playcalling.
Whichever way NE Guilford decides to go we wish them nothing but the best! They have some solid pieces coming back next year and look forward to what the coaching staff can do with their players. Best of luck to the Rams
Andy what assistant coaches around the traid do you think would do a good job at Norteast Guilford.
If Coach Suggs is not interested and let’s say Coach Fulk is, give Coach Ryan Fulk some strong consideration…
Not sure about how everybody else views this, but I have always been a firm believer of rewarding those coaches who put in the time, have been loyal, and have come up through the system…
First and foremost they have to be interested and they have to want to do the job…
That is what led Coach Bates to SEG…He had to be interested in that job for it to lead him away from NEG…
So the job-interest has to be there…
Which leads to my next point…
The top assistant in the Triad area in my opinion and to take it a step further, in the opinion of many others too, the top assistant in the Triad, that has not yet taken a head coaching job, is Aaron Beal at East Forsyth High School..
But, back to our earlier line of thinking, he has to be interested….I know for a fact that Page was interested in him as their next head coach when the recent move was made, where Coach Rolfes was let go, and Coach Robertson was brought in….Coach Beal was on the real short-list at Page, and for a very rare time, and I mean real rare occasion, he had some interest in that Page job, if my tea leaves were giving me the right read, and I’m pretty sure they were….
Coach Beal would be the man, but that big barrier will always be there, is he interested in a the next high school football opening in the area???
We are all dream chasers, but you can’t spend your time chasing a coach if he is not interested…
NEG must take a little time, and see who all puts in their applications for this job at Northeast and then you also have to reach out to a name or two, that might not be on that list and if you want them, give them some consideration and see if there is any like interest at all…
But you will have that list of coaches that want to join your program and if they want you, then you will probably find a likeness in interest, as you get with them and talk this job opening over…
Coach Beal would be the “Next Big Thing”, but if Brock Lesnar is not willing to wrestle “The Rock”, then you can’t have that match…And if a Coach is not willing or ready to come to Northeast Guilford now, you have to go looking for another match….
I am going to be thinking about other assistant coaches in the area that would make a good head coach here locally and try and give you more input on that thought…
Before I check out for now, here is another quick thought for you….What about Joe Rigsbee over at Grimsley High School??? He is one of coach Darryl Brown’s top assistant coaches and he has built one heck of a defense, I think the Whirlie defense is his responsibility, and he already has the built-in Blue and White colors(of the NEG Rams)…
If you are looking for a top-notch current assistant coach that should make you a very good head coach, Joe Rigsbee might be your man….He has other assistant coaching duties in his background, pretty sure there was time for him down at Southern Guilford with Coach Brown and not sure if he also spent some time up at Northern and at McMichael…
But Joe Rigsbee would be a strong candidate, if he is interested in moving up and becoming a head football coach in Guilford County….
We will try and come up with some more dream-chasers for you as the weekend unwinds….
And one more blurp that came across my ticker…
A very good assistant coach in Guilford County, that would make some varsity team a very good head coach one day, is the Southwest Guilford Cowboys’ assistant coach, Joey McGinnis…
But, it all keeps going back to that earlier line of thinking, the assistant coach has to want to become the head coach and in many cases, they have to be willing to leave the school where they are at now, and move on to a totally different school and build those new loyalties…
Coach Beal would be a great hire. I wonder if any of Dudley assistant would be interested.
Ryan Fulk is a Great Coach. He is currently coaching 3 sports at NE Middle and he would be unaffordable! Go Rams!
As the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase used to say, everyone has their price, but you have to really think the move up from the Middle School level to the high school level(for Coach Fulk at NEG Middle) would be a very nice career move…
In past years/seasons, when the jobs have come open, the Dudley coaches have chosen to stay put…Coach Kilpatrick did choose to leave Dudley a few years back and he took the job at Smith, but now after his time at Smith was over and he was back at Dudley, as an assistant for a few years, Coach Kirkpatrick is now a middle school and high school football referee and he is now longer in coaching….
Coach Pat Neal, one of the Dudley recent assistants, was at one time, the head coach for the Grimsley Whirlies…Dudley defensive coordinator Brandon Anderson was the interim coach at Grimsley for a few games, a number of years ago….Dudley assistant coach DeNorris Best has a lot of experience as a Dudley assistant coach, but the only school Coach Best has ever coached at, is Dudley High School…
But, you now got me thinking even more…
And this might be another one of those “Aces in the Hole”….
I am saying we may want to give some thought to Dudley offensive coordinator Antonio Hall….
Why Coach Hall to NEG??? He has been called an offensive wizard/genius by many who follow his local work….
Coach Hall was the offensive coordinator at Page High School for a year or two and then he left Page, and returned to James B. Dudley High School…When Coach Hall left Page, and came back to Dudley at least a couple of the Page players came with him, that is how much they thought of his work, and they believed in his work…
One of the kids was the Adams kid(I believe it was Branson Adams) who came over to Dudley from Page with Coach Hall and Adams hit the Dudley backfield and he put up some very impressive numbers last season….
The real kicker about Coach Antonio Hall is something else that I would think might bring the deal home, if the deal can be done…
Coach Hall is a Northeast Guilford graduate…He is a former NEG Ram, and this would be his chance to come back home and be what you might say, be “The Head of the Household”….
Seems to me like this would be a great opportunity for Coach Hall and one that he would need to take look at/investigate…
Just when you think this Northeast Guilford head football coaching job might be one that could be answered quietly and maybe sort of out of the public eye, with the help and availability of this Comment Box, and the fact we all need something to lean on and talk about, we have together been able to make this a hot topic, and a very deep and interesting topic to boot….
How about Hall, or have we even looked at them all, when it comes to the NEG Rams’ football coaching candidates???
Joe Ray!!!!
We know one of those “always key factors” is, the coach has to be interested in the job and he must want to come to Northeast Guilford, and be the Rams head football coach….
And on the new front today, fill us in…
Who is Joe Ray???
I don’t see Coach Beal leaving EF. He has established himself as a top assistant, but i think his roots are firmly planted over there.
Coach Hall is a very interesting name. I think he would love to get back to his old stomping grounds and could bring some fire and energy with him. He has the potential and talent to keep NE at a high level.
IMO assuming all parties are interested and would be willing to leave your top candidates are:
1: Beal
2: Rofles
3: Hall
4: Suggs
NEG Rams fans/NEG Rams boosters….Holler/Holla if you hear us.