Searcy puts former Southside coach at helm

Kenny Simpson is the new head football coach at Searcy High School. He replaces Mark Kelley, who led the Lions to its first football state championship last fall. Kelley resigned earlier this month to take an assistant coaching position at Conway High School.
Kenny Simpson is the new head football coach at Searcy High School. He replaces Mark Kelley, who led the Lions to its first football state championship last fall. Kelley resigned earlier this month to take an assistant coaching position at Conway High School.

In the nine years that head football coach Kenny Simpson was at Southside Batesville High School, he was able to turn around the school’s football program from a last-place team to a conference contender. Last season, Simpson led the Rebels to a 7-4 record and a tie for the conference championship.

“He is very knowledgeable about the game and what it takes to be successful,” said Tommy Gilleran, the head coach at Lake Hamilton High School. “He built [Southside’s] program up, and this year, they won their conference.

“He is just knowledgeable about the game and how to work with people.”

Simpson was named the new head football coach at Searcy High School on June 11. He replaces former head coach Mark Kelley, who had been at the helm since 2015 and led the program to its first state championship last fall. He had a 44-17 record in five seasons. Kelley resigned to take an assistant-coach position at Conway High School.

“Obviously, that will be a challenge (replacing Kelley), but we will just need to get everybody to focus on this season and what we can control,” Simpson said. “The goal will be to consistently compete year in and year out.”

Butch Schucker, athletic director for the Searcy School District, said Simpson was able to turn Southside around to be consistently competitive each year and was named the 4A-2 Coach of the Year in 2017.

“I like that Coach Simpson is coming to us with head-coaching experience and knows how to win, but more importantly, he knows how to build relationships with his players,” Schucker said. “He has a positive attitude and has a clear vision on how to continue to lead the Searcy Lions to be successful.”

Simpson graduated from Harding University in Searcy in 2003 with a degree in social studies and coaching. He met his wife, Jamie, while he was in college, so to have the opportunity to move back to the area was always a dream of his.

“That was a hope of ours,” Simpson said. “What Searcy has done in their school system — they have great kids and a great administration — so it was a good opportunity to coach there.

“I think football is a great opportunity to change the next generation because it teaches [the players] discipline and characteristics, and I get to be around kids. I enjoy the game and being around the students and leaving an impact on young men. My concern is focused on moving forward and hoping the kids will give me a fresh start.”

Gilleran met Simpson three years ago when he invited Simpson to speak at a football clinic. The two coaches run a similar offense, and Gilleran said from that point on, the two have kept in contact by talking on the phone.

“He’s very spiritual, so we talk about the Lord,” Gilleran said of Simpson. “I think he is going to have more athletes at Searcy than he did at Southside because Searcy always seems to have good athletes at the skilled positions, as well as athletic and strong linemen.

“The biggest difference is that you have kids going both ways, so you can spend more time with kids on both sides of the ball individually. He will be fine with that.”

Simpson’s dad was in the military, so the family moved around quite a bit when Simpson was a child, but he said he spent most of his childhood in Florida. One of Simpson’s first coaching jobs was three years at Alabama Christian Academy, the alma mater of Tommy Shoemaker, the head coach at Central Arkansas Christian High School in North Little Rock. The two also coached against each other, as Southside and CAC are in the same conference.

“I think he is a real good person, with good character and a Christian man who carries that out in his coaching,” Shoemaker said of Simpson. “I know he is a family guy and a really solid person who tries to set a good example by the way he lives and treats people.

“I told him and Searcy’s people, when they asked me about him, ‘He’s a good football coach, and his teams were always solid footballwise who put forth really good effort and were disciplined,’” Shoemaker said. “And I think that translates anywhere, and I think he will mesh well with the community, the school and the team.”

Shoemaker said Simpson was able to turn Southside around because he had a plan, he stuck to it, and the student-athletes bought into the way Simpson did things.

“It allowed [his coaches] to get the most out of their talent,” Shoemaker said. “Kenny did a lot of things that helped Southside’s program — not just the football part — but the facilities, as well, and the whole way he handles the culture of the team.”

Simpson spent the past week touring the campus and the football facility. He said his goal during that time was to meet with as many people as possible, including the coaches, stakeholders and, most importantly, the kids.

“I believe they have started workouts in the weight rooms, but they are limited just like everywhere else in the state, so they are behind a little bit where we would normally be,” Simpson said. “There are going to be some challenges, but mainly, I just want to get to know the kids and form relationships there.”

Simpson and his wife have been married since 2001 and have three children: Avery, 15; Braden, 12; and Bennett, 8.

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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