Cadillac hires Shawn Jackson as new football coach

May 11—CADILLAC — Shawn Jackson took a different road to coaching high school football.

That road eventually led him to Cadillac.

Jackson, 51, was announced as Cadillac's new varsity football coach Tuesday, replacing Cody Mallory, who left the Vikings to take the coaching job at Spring Lake in early March.

Jackson graduated from Hayti High School in Hayti, Missouri, in 1989. He then worked at a steel mill and an aluminum plant for nine years before starting college in 1998 at Arkansas State University.

While at ASU, Jackson started his high school coaching career at his alma mater as an offensive coordinator for two years. He then went to nearby Caruthersville, Mo., for a year. In 2004, he arrived in Blytheville, Arkansas, before graduating from Arkansas State in 2004.

Jackson comes north with a career head coaching record of 60-48 in four stops.

"Everything was in line for me from a family standpoint and a professional standpoint," said Jackson, who will teach physical education and run the weight room at Cadillac High School. "I just can't wait to get up there and get to work."

His wife, Abbie, accepted an elementary school teaching position at Cadillac. They have three sons, Cole (21, who's in medical school), Kellen (15) and Cooper (13).

Jackson's in-laws live in Escanaba. The Vikings host Escanaba in Week Two, and they could play again in the Upper Peninsula the following year, depending on how Cadillac's schedule is impacted by possible league and/or Michigan High School Athletic Association changes.

Jackson's current contract with Crossett High School in Arkansas expires June 20, at which time he'll move to northern Michigan full time. In the meantime, he'll go back and forth a bit while working with players and assistants remotely.

Cadillac Athletic Director Fred Bryant said the school whittled down applicants to 14, then a school panel narrowed that even further to four for interviews. Bryant said Jackson had other offers to coach next season.

"We felt Shawn stood out because of his experience as a head coach and his ability to mesh with new programs," Bryant said. "We wanted to continue to build on what Cody (Mallory) has established the last seven years."

Mallory led the Vikings to a 35-24 record since taking over when Jim Webb retired seven years ago. Ironically, Webb resurfaced on the northern Michigan coaching scene in the last month, taking the head coaching job at Petoskey following Rich Winbigler's departure.

Mallory racked up a 24-11 record over the past three seasons at Cadillac, including a 2020 Division 4 state championship game berth. He earned Division 4 Coach of the Year by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association for leading the Vikings to their first championship appearance in the program's 125-year history.

"That was a big deal for me, going someplace that had good success," Jackson said. "I want to come in and build off what coach Webb and Mallory left behind."

Vikings fans will be in for a much different look, as Jackson runs a no-huddle spread offense out of the shotgun, whereas Mallory ran a power-running flex bone option.

"They pitched it and we throw it," Jackson said. "I've run RPO (run-pass option) for 20 years. It's the same philosophy. The nuts and bolts of it as far as reading the ends is the same."

Most of last year's assistant coaches remain in the program, Bryant said.

Starting quarterback Aden Gurden graduates soon, but 6-foot-5 sophomore Charlie Howell started three games last season — against Alpena, Gaylord and Traverse City Central, going 2-1 — when Gurden sat out because of COVID-19 protocols.

Jackson took the head coaching job at Hayti for one season, going 6-3, then accepting a recruiting position at the University of Missouri for a season and taking the offensive coordinator job at Division 2 Lindenwood University in 2006.

His longest stay in one spot was a five-year stint at Obion (Tennessee), producing a 22-32 record at a school with a long history of dismal results. The Rebels won just 11 games the previous four seasons, endured a 20-game losing streak and produced winning seasons only 10 times since 1961. Under Jackson, Obion went 22-22 after an 0-10 campaign to start his tenure there. He became the first head coach to lead the Rebels to back-to-back playoff appearances. The Tennessee Titans named him High School Coach of the Week in 2011 at Obion after the school's first 7-0 start in 51 years.

Jackson served as receivers coach at North Gwinnet High School in Georgia for the 2013 season and offensive coordinator at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia the following year before taking the head coaching job at McCracken County in Kentucky, producing a 17-7 record in two seasons (2015-16). He returned to Georgia to coach under his mentor at Camden County High School in Kingsland from 2017-19, leading the Crossett (Arkansas) Eagles as head coach the last years to a 15-6 mark.

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