SPRING 2009

Cover Story

A Big Win - Hawks’ Phil Jones named FCA National Coach of the Year

By Dawn Tolbert

When Phil Jones arrived on the Hill in 2004, Shorter owned one football – and even that had been purchased for the news conference announcing his appointment as head coach. This January, with a year of prep work plus four full seasons behind him, Coach Jones brought home a new piece of equipment for his office: the Grant Teaff Coach of the Year trophy.

The award, presented annually by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, recognizes one football coach in the nation who exemplifies Christian principles and who is involved in FCA. The award is also based on the success and performance of the coach’s team that season.

“When you look at the kinds of folks who have won this award, it’s hard to not make out of this what it is: a big-time award,” said Shorter College Athletic Director Bill Peterson. “The FCA Coach of the Year Award is symbolic of Coach Jones’ strong Christian commitment and of the incredible amount of time he and Janie have invested in FCA throughout the years. It also puts Coach Jones, and Shorter College along with him, in a group of coaches and schools that ordinarily we wouldn’t be in.”

A simple glance at the list of recent winners of the Grant Teaff Award underscores Coach Peterson’s point. Those winners include Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State, Tommy Bowden of Clemson, Tommy Tuberville of Auburn and Jim Tressel of Ohio State.

And yet, for Coach Jones, the award isn’t about joining the ranks of those distinguished coaches.

“Without a doubt,” he said, “this is the most humbling honor I have ever received because of the nature of it, because it is based on the relationship with God. That relationship brings about the desire to please Him and to serve others. That causes me to look at myself and realize I should be doing more to bring Him honor.”

That desire to honor God, however, was not produced by the FCA award; it has been an ongoing theme of Shorter Hawks football since the program was born. In reflecting upon the establishment of football at Shorter, Coach Jones said, “When I came to build this program, we began to study and pray deeply about the foundation of our program. The answer came that it should be about relationships. The number one relationship in my life is my relationship with the Lord. I knew that it was eternal, that it was stronger than what might happen. We knew we wanted to recruit young men that would help us build strong relationships. Our thought process was: if God created us in such a way to be able to appreciate the relationship with His Son, He probably created us to appreciate all relationships.”

Coach Jones has repeatedly shared with players his belief in the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ and in letting that relationship shape all other parts of life. “Knowing Christ and having a relationship with Him extends so far beyond the scoreboard; it’s eternal,” he said. “Many in athletics – I know I used to – establish their worth in what happens on the field and in what the scoreboard says. Now, that’s important, but I feel that if I am going to tell the players that I love them – and I do – and at the same time I know something eternal and don’t share it, my statement of love is hollow.”

That commitment to honoring God has truly inspired his players. “Playing for Coach Jones has been incredible,” said senior Nick Bearden, a four-year tight end for the Hawks who hails from Boaz, Ala. “Football used to be an individual sport for me, but he instilled in us the relationship part. He told us right off the bat that he loved us, and that kind of took us back. We weren’t sure what to do with that until we realized what he meant. He also helped us realize that we are only as good as the person beside us.

“Coach Jones has helped me realize that it’s not about me; it’s about helping the other person and making a difference. With Coach Jones, faith in God is number one in his life. Usually, you take what you think defines you and make that number one. With Coach Jones, that’s his faith. He uses God as his foundation in his life and goes through God to get to everything else. He uses what he does to get the word out about God.”

For Coach Jones, his investment in these young men’s lives is already reaping rewards. “This year, our seniors drew up a covenant from a biblical example,” Coach Jones said. “It was a covenant based on 11 factors like the 11 players. They were determined to live by it and play by it. The idea came from the scriptural example of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem. From that example, the players said, ‘If people look at us and the non-Christians around us and can’t tell the difference, something is wrong.’ The covenant was about football mainly, and not every player, obviously, was doing that from a spiritual perspective, but it was a powerful statement.”

The leadership for creating the covenant and a successful 2008 season came mainly from the senior class, the very players who were recruited to establish football at Shorter. “I believe the Lord was involved in who came to Shorter as part of that first class,” Coach Jones said. “Those were young men who had enough courage and desire to build something and to place themselves in it without knowing the results.”

Four years later, the results are quite impressive. In 2005, the inaugural team played a varsity schedule, claiming three victories against improbable odds. They achieved 7-4 records in both 2006 and 2007 and came into their own in 2008 as they rallied around the theme “Our team. Our town. Our time.” The Hawks’ 2008 season included a 9-3 record, with one loss at the hands of NCAA Division-1 FCS Western Carolina; their first playoff berth; recognition as Mid-South Conference Western Division Co-Champions; running back A.J. Cooley finishing the season as the No. 2 NAIA rusher in the country; and Coach Jones also being named the NAIA Division I Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. In discussing the stellar season, Coach Jones’ humble spirit again emerged as he added, “I don’t think the successes of Shorter football have to do with my coaching. I knew this thing had to be about something bigger than me.”

That humility and Christian character have made Coach Jones a blessing to Shorter Athletics, Coach Peterson said. “His faith is truly apparent; not only does he talk the talk, but he also walks the walk. He is a great example for both our student-athletes and our coaches. Coach Jones is the kind of man that you hope your son can play for. My own life, and that of my family, has been blessed by having him in it.”

Shorter College President Dr. Harold E. Newman echoed Coach Peterson’s remarks, adding that Coach Jones is a valuable part of the Shorter family. “His receiving the FCA Coach of the Year Award is truly remarkable because it highlights the character of Phil Jones for his position on his personal faith and his genuine desire to build the faith and character of athletes. He balances winning with character development, and that is a crucial part of fulfilling the mission of Shorter College.”

With spring practice complete, Coach Jones is already turning his eye toward the 2009 season and preparing for the opening game Aug. 29 at Lenoir-Rhyne. He said, “My fellow coaches have been very kind since I received the FCA award. I’ve received lots of congratulations, and I think we’re now viewed as a program that has to be dealt with rather than just as an upstart. This is a football team, and we’re going to do the best we can.”

With an ongoing commitment to building relationships and honoring God, the 2009 season should be one to watch.

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