Kirksey looking to make his mark at Marion County

New Marion County coach Chris Kirksey has followed in former coach Mike Swaney’s footsteps for as long as he’s been involved in football.

He was a few years behind Swaney in school, and watched the elder athlete compete as part of Taylor County’s varsity football team. When Kirksey got into coaching, Swaney was a coordinator for then Taylor County coach Bill Montgomery.

Kirksey spent 11 years as a head coach at Taylor County beginning in 2004, but continued to watch Swaney from a distance. And when he left Taylor County after 11 seasons as its head coach, Kirksey was quick to jump on an opportunity to become Marion County’s defensive coordinator a year ago.

“That’s kind of where I learned to coach,” Kirksey said on Monday. “Watching him for all these years, I’ve just tried to continue that in my coaching because he does it the right way. Being enthusiastic and encouraging, but hard-nosed. That’s what I’m going to continue to do, because that’s what I know.”

Kirksey was promoted to Marion County’s head coach following Swaney’s retirement in the spring. It was a perfect situation for both the program and Kirksey, who said that familiarity with the players and the coaching styles meant a smooth transition.

What will be tough, the new coach said, though, is continuing to follow in the footsteps of his mentor here after the kind of success he’s put together.

Under Swaney’s watch, the Eagles became one of the best football programs in all of Class A. They won a state championship in 2013 and reached the semifinals in 2014. In six seasons, they were 65-10.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” Kirksey said. “Those are big shoes to fill. With the tradition here, it’ll be tough. There’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I was fortunate enough to come in here last year as a coordinator and be in the weight room with these guys. They just accepted me in, and everything has gone really well.”

Now, entering 2016 there are some changes. Kirksey will get a lot of new players following the graduation of some key guys, most notably Lorenzo Smothers. Kirksey is trying to maintain an encouraging mindset for his players, promoting a message that he grew up with throughout his life:

Success isn’t easy.

“You can’t live off of what the others did,” he said. “You have to make your own wealth, and that takes a lot of hard work.”

Which is something that has always been a staple of Marion County teams. Few teams matched the work they put in on a week-to-week basis. A lot of that had to do with Swaney, but quite a bit of it had to do with the assistant coaches and coordinators, as well. Kirksey said he was lucky to keep the entire staff together heading into the 2016 season.

Put it all together, and he doesn’t expect the mentality to change a bit.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m chomping at the bit. I’m ready to go.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Kirksey looking to make his mark at Marion County."