BY THE NUMBERSAlvin Tarver’s season by season Howard record2010: 8-32009 : 2-82008 : 9-22007 : 8-32006 : 7-42005 : 5-5
When Alvin Tarver took over a struggling Howard football program his plan was to rebuild it and move on within five years. It took him one more season than he planned, but after one of the most successful coaching stints in Howard history, the 55-year old Tarver stepped down Wednesday.
The program had gone 5-16 the two seasons before Tarver’s hiring, but he won five games his first season and followed that with three years in which the Hustlin’ Tigers went a combined 24-9. Injuries to several key starters led to a 2-8 record in 2009, the only losing season in Tarver’s career. Howard rebounded to finish 8-3 last season, with its only regular-season losses coming to region champion Tyner and seven-time defending state champ Alcoa before losing by six to Loudon in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
“When I first got the job I said I wanted to try and revitalize the program and bring pride back,” Tarver said. “I felt I could get it done in that five-year time frame and the only reason I stayed this last year is because we went 2-8 in 2009. There was no way in the world I was going to leave the program like that. But we came back with a vengeance last year to get the program back to respectability.
“It was extremely tough for me to make this decision. But that’s part of life, making tough decisions and moving on. Football is a big part of my life but it’s not my life. My parents are still alive but I only get to see them about four times a year because of how busy my schedule has been with coaching. I want to spend some quality family time with them, plus be able to do some things that I’ve wanted to for myself but couldn’t.”