Taylor sees an upturn for Whitwell

The results remain to be seen, but on the surface it seems to be a perfect match. Whitwell’s football program has known only instability and frustration recently, while Tim Taylor was looking for a program he could settle into.

The Tigers have had four head coaching changes in the last five seasons, and their last winning season was five years ago. When Taylor was promoted from offensive coordinator, he became the third head coach this year’s seniors will have played for.

A winning record in each of his four seasons coaching Marion County, including three playoff appearances, wasn’t enough for Taylor to keep his job at his alma mater. That bitter split led Taylor to take assistant’s roles at Grundy County, Sequatchie County and Whitwell before getting this chance to lead a program again.

His first priority was to reassure the players that he was making a commitment to building the program, with no plans to leave.

“These kids haven’t been able to build any kind of relationship with coaches for a while,” Taylor said. “There wasn’t much confidence or pride, because they were struggling on the field and it seemed like their coaches would up and leave after every year.

“These kids haven’t won at any level growing up. A lot of times, whether we win a game or not comes down to the mental part. Instead of hoping to win, these kids need to start believing they will win. That’s my job right now, to build that confidence in them. There are still times when things get tough in practice and you start to see them melt down. It’s a process.”

That process includes developing leadership as well as a positive attitude. The Tigers have two first-year assistant coaches and only six senior players.

“A lot of people think of us as a ‘W,’” Taylor said. “We want everybody on our schedule to know they’re going to be in for a fight. Our goal is to be competitive and have a chance to win every game. I try to make the kids understand that if we’re going to go through all this hard work, we want it to pay off, so expect to win.

“We’re not super athletic, but I’ve coached at enough places to know we’ve got the talent to win here.”

Having six starters back, including four senior linemen who average nearly 250 pounds, is one key to ensuring the Tigers will stay competitive with most opponents. Among those returning are Stephen Bird — the team’s offensive lineman of the year last season — Timmy Nunley (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) and juniors John Terry (6-4, 285) and Jake Joslyn (6-7, 336).

But the line must remain healthy and live up to its potential, because Whitwell lost its entire offensive backfield and has very little experience in the skill positions.

“To have a good year and make the playoffs would be about the greatest feeling in the world,” Bird said. “We haven’t had a lot of wins around here for a long time, so we know it’s pretty much up to us linemen to get that done.

“The last few years have been aggravating. But we’ve got a really good coach now that cares about us and is pushing us hard to get better.”