His coaching career has taken him down quite a long and winding road, but Houston County Bears head football coach Jeremy Edwards says he is right where he wants to be.
“This is a dream come true,” Edwards said during our recent Next Take Georgia podcast, where the Houston County coach talked about that journey, including all the stops along the way, that led him to Middle Georgia.
Edwards said his first coaching job was in 2008, at Berkmar High school, where he was promoted to offensive coordinator in his second season.
“That was a tough couple of years,” he said. “I had to grow up as a coach in a hurry. But I was like a sponge, just soaking up as much information as I could. I learned a lot those first two years in coaching.”
His next stop was at North Gwinnett, where he coached under head coach Bob Sphire. Edwards was the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks coach, as well as the ninth-grade head football coach.
“Working under Coach Sphire taught me a lot about how to manage a program and how a program should be run,” Edwards said. “It taught me a lot about the day-to-day operation of running a big program.”
After one year at North Gwinnett learning the ropes under Sphire, Edwards said he then went to Northview High School, where he became an offensive coordinator once again. He would spend one season there before heading to North Paulding, where he worked under Scott Jones as his offensive coordinator. A new baby brought a bit of stability to the Edwards family, with Jeremy spending four seasons with the Wolfpack.
But during a playoff game against Colquitt County in Moultrie, Edwards was wowed by the excitement and atmosphere of South Georgia football, and he was inspired.
“I loved that atmosphere and wound up going through a couple of interviews with South Georgia programs,” he recalled.
One of those would become Edwards next coaching stop: “I went to Cairo and worked with Steve DeVoursney for three seasons there.”
Edwards and his family enjoyed the slow pace in Cairo, and he thought that may be the place to settle down. Then Marquise Westbrook called.
“He had just been hired at Warner Robins as the head coach, and he wanted me to come run his offense,” Edwards said.
So after three seasons in Cairo, Edwards was off to Middle Georgia, and after three straight trips to the state title game – and two championships – as the Demons offensive coordinator, he got the call he had been waiting for his whole life: Houston County wanted him to be their head coach.
“It was a dream come true,” Edwards said. “I have the best job in America.”
In his first stint as a head football coach, Edwards led the Bears to a 10-3 record and a trip to the GHSA Class 6A playoff quarterfinals.
Edwards said it was all about coming in and making Houston County football a relevant football program.
“That was three huge playoff games for this program,” Edwards said. “When we took over here in January (2022), we felt like we had the athletes to win football games. They just needed some confidence.”
Going from four wins the previous season to 10 wins in 2022 will certainly help build that confidence, but Edwards wants to make sure this isn’t a one-time thing.
“We are all proud of what we did as a team last year, but we don’t talk about that it anymore,” he said.
Edwards said the Houston County will have more than 35 seniors back this season, and that includes one of the state’s top quarterbacks. AJ Hill enjoyed a phenomenal breakout season as a sophomore, throwing for 3,663 yards with 40 TDs and only 3 INT. He’ll return for his junior season, and he’ll be surrounded by several playmakers, including running back Ryan Taleb. The senior ran for over 1,700 yards with 19 TDs last year.
Taleb and Hill are just two of the many returners Edwards will have to work with in 2023. As he enters his second season, Edwards said his goals are fairly simple and straightforward: “We want to win the county. That’s number one.”
Next is winning the region, and neither is an easy task, but Edwards said in the podcast that he is surrounded by a tremendous support network.
“I feel like I have the best job anywhere,” Edwards said. “We have an administration that has given me everything to succeed.”
