When things for a sports team aren’t going completely bonkers, I’m a big fan of continuity.
Especially so when it comes to coaching positions: A team can have all the talent in the world, but without a leader the players can trust, things can quickly go awry. (2012-13 New York Rangers and former Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella, I’m looking at you.)
The Plant City High football players were shocked, to say the least, when they learned that six-year head coach Wayne Ward resigned from the position last month. The PCHS alum said that he needed to attend to some personal matters, and stepping down would be best for him at this time.
Ward led the Raiders program to new heights, putting Plant City on the map for many big-name college programs and according to many Raider fans I’ve heard from, was an excellent role model for his players. Plant City may not have won a state title in Ward’s tenure, but he’s still going to be a hard act to follow.
Which is why I’m of the opinion that promoting Greg Meyer was the best move for the program going forward.
Meyer, who will jump right into his second head coaching gig, hasn’t been with the program for as long as Ward had before he was named head coach six years ago. But he’s already accomplished quite a bit.
Tasked with running the defense the entire time he’s been in town, Meyer helped produce some of the area’s top stop units. What Raider fans can forget the excellent 2013 defense, studded with stars like Montel McBride, Sedrick King, John Broome and Sawyer Dawson? And, even though last year’s team wasn’t quite as successful as the 2013 team, Meyer still got the most out of players who had previously flown under the radar — Patrick Colleran, Javaris Whitsett, Steven Ogletree, etc. Keeping that same defensive mind in the field house is the right way to go.
He’s also helped send a lot of kids to college, serving as the team’s recruiting liaison between PCHS and the universities. That’s helped schools such as Alabama, Nebraska, Purdue and more learn that Plant City is more than just a place that exists on a detailed map of Florida.
All of that, combined with the fact that Meyer is well-liked by the players, bodes well for Plant City’s program going forward. I’m not suggesting that this is an immediately transformative hire, though, because it’s way too early to tell.
Perhaps Meyer’s biggest challenge will be finding a way to make the offense click — that unit was arguably the team’s biggest concern in 2014, other than the consistently stellar play it got from running back Markese Hargrove.
Developing quarterback Corey King will be especially crucial to the team’s success, and the young QB did show promising flashes of talent while splitting snaps with graduating senior Austin Carswell.
It’ll be a challenging year for Meyer, but in a district that hasn’t had a repeating champion in the last few seasons, there’s definitely potential for success in the near future.