Jackson hires new football coach

The Jackson High School football program and Brent Eckley had one thing in common that attracted them to one another.

They both have a winning tradition.

The Jackson School Board, which has seen its once-proud program fall on hard times, hired the offensive-minded Union football coach Friday in a special closed session.

The 41-year-old Eckley led Union to a 62-18 record during his seven seasons at the school.

"We're fired up about it. We're ready to get to work," Eckley said in a phone interview Friday.

He'll be taking over a Jackson program that has mustered just six wins over the last three seasons after making back-to-back Class 5 state semifinals appearances in 2007 and 2008. Jackson also made two Class 4 state championship game appearances in the 1990s.

Former Jackson coach Van Hitt recently resigned under pressure following his fourth season at the helm.

"We're hoping we can get it back there and at the same time respect the traditions that are in place," Eckley said.

The Indians were 2-8 this past season, which followed a 3-7 record in 2010 and 1-9 mark in 2009.

Eckley's Wildcats recently finished their third unbeaten regular season in his seven seasons at Union, which has netted four conference and five district championships. Union has qualified for the Class 4 state playoffs the last six seasons.

That all was enough to distinguish Eckley from about 20 candidates who applied for the job, including four other finalists.

"His experience and he's been successful wherever he's gone," Jackson athletic director John Martin said about Eckley's attributes. "Those are the two main things in our mind that kind of stood out."

Martin said there was one applicant within the system and four finalists were interviewed after the fifth withdrew his name from consideration.

Eckley also has several books and videos on the topics of coaching, offensive tactics and drills.

"Offensively his teams have typically put up quite a few points," Martin said. "That in my mind, that's great, but ultimately it's a matter of he's ran solid programs where he's been and he's had success. He's a good motivator and he gets kids to play for him."

Offense has been a problem area for Jackson during the past three seasons. The Indians averaged just 12.8 points a game in 2011.

Eckley's 2011 team averaged 48.7 points per game, and the school has been an offensive juggernaut during his tenure. His no-huddle, shotgun spread offenses have topped 500 points in five of his seven seasons, including a high of 584 points in 2011. The Wildcats scored more than 60 points in five of their 12 games, peaking with 70 points against Hermann in a Week 4 win.

Union posted a first-round playoff win against Republic before suffering its only loss of the 2011 season against Springfield Hillcrest in the sectional round. The 28-21 loss was only the third in the past two seasons for Union, which went 22-3 during that span.

Union's balanced offensive attack with several three-year starters accumulated more than 5,700 yards on offense in 2011. His team passed 238 times for 2,678 yards and rushed 434 times for a school-record 3,033 yards.

"I am more of an offensive guy," Eckley said. "I've called the offense dating back to '98 at Warrensburg. That's when I started doing the offensive stuff."

He's run the same type offense over the years.

"I've been fortunate to have good players, but even more important than that I've been fortunate to have good kids that have bought into what we've been teaching," Eckley said. "I've also been fortunate to have good assistants coaches who have been really good workers and excellent teachers."

His most talented player was current University of Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb, who passed for 55 touchdowns and 4,300 yards during his junior season at Union. The Wildcats had three 1,000-yard receivers that season. That 2007 team averaged a state-record 545 yards per game.

Eckley said he assumes he will run the same type offense at Jackson.

"You've got to look at the personnel a little bit," Eckley said. "We'll probably have the same verbage, but the offense is broad enough ... depending on our ability level we might run it a bunch or we might throw it a bunch."

Eckley compiled a 39-14 record during five seasons as coach at Montgomery County before taking over the Union program for the 2005 season.

His first team at Union went 4-6, and he has not had a losing season since. His 2009 team went 6-5, the only other time one of his teams had more than two losses in a season.

"The first year was kind of rough trying to get things in place," Eckley said. "It was a little bit slow, but we were also coming off a season where they were 2-8, and I was also the third coach in three years. That transition makes it a little rough for the kids."

Eckley, who graduated from Pekin High School in Iowa in 1988, serves as the president of the Missouri Football Coaches Association. He played collegiate football at William Penn.

His other coaching experience includes stints as an assistant at Hickman Mills and Warrensburg.

His teams have played Poplar Bluff and he knows a few coaches in the area, but he is not overly familiar with Jackson and the Southeast Missouri region.

"The initial attraction is that any of the football coaches that I talked to talked about how special Jackson is and what a great environment it is for a football coach," Eckley said. "I've not heard anyone say anything negative about the school or football program. It seems to me from all accounts that the community supports the school and all of its activities very well."

Eckley and his wife, Sherene, have five children, ranging in ages 6 to 19.

"When school is out here, I will be there," Eckley said. "But I will also be there before that, in and out as many times as I can get there and be around and be involved and learn kids and learn coaches. I'm going to do everything I can to be there."