Anniston, AL – BOE votes to hire Tarrant’s Jackson to replace White, become Bulldogs’ 22nd head football coach
By Joe Medley
Rico Jackson draws his greatest coaching inspiration from family, and he saw first hand what a football family coming together after a player’s death can do. The guy who helped to lift Aliceville to its first state-final berth in 16 years after a player died in a tragic accident will be Anniston High School’s next head football coach. The Anniston Board of Education voted Wednesday to offer the job as part of the broader personnel item on the board’s agenda but declined to release the coach’s name until contacting him. That call came after the meeting, and Jackson confirmed he accepted the job.
Jackson emerged from a pool of 30 applicants, Anniston superintendent Dr. D. Ray Hill said. Of the 30 applicants, 28 met minimum qualifications, 21 were invited to interview and 12 interviewed over two days. The panel of Anniston principal Phillip Posey, administrators and “a few students” narrowed the list to three finalists, Hill said. Hill spoke with each of the three finalists Wednesday, he said, finishing those conversations about 11 a.m.
“Of course, everybody said, ‘Yes, I want the job,’” Hill said. “Then some had hesitations because some had questions about what their needs would be coming to Anniston. … Each of them had some questions about some specific things, trying to make sure we could accommodate what they think they would need to move this program.” Jackson will replace Rico White, who accepted the head coaching job at Mae Jemison in December.
“From the outside looking in, I think Coach White did a great job bringing kids together,” Jackson said. “It looks like kids are staying home and playing together. They’re committed to a community and school. “When the community rallies behind a team, and kids rally to a school, success can happen.”
Jackson was 2-8 in 2022, his lone season at Tarrant, which has not won a playoff game since 2006. The Wildcats have enjoyed just two winning seasons and two 5-5 seasons since then. Tarrant has won six games in the past four seasons, and Jackson was the Wildcats’ third head coach in three seasons in 2022. Jackson is 58-59 in 11 seasons overall at Murphy, Escambia County, Aliceville and Fairfield. He’s 4-3 in three playoff appearances, including a run to the 2016 Class 2A title game at Aliceville. By comparison, White was 30-72 over 10 years and six schools before going to Anniston, where he went 35-23 with five playoff appearances in as many years, including a 2019 run to the 4A semifinals. Before Anniston, White had one playoff appearance and a 1-1 playoff record. [read more….]
