Coach Profiles: Chad McGehee, James Clemens

Aug. 4—Chad McGehee is the newest in a line of James Clemens head coaches who have helped heighten the program's expectations to the point where they went a perfect 10-0 in last year's regular season.

McGehee comes by way of Hoover High School, operating under the guidance of head coach Josh Niblett, while also coaching in the ranks of Georgia football at successful programs such as Parkview High School.

McGehee's group this season is a talented one, with multiple All-State players returning to the roster such as QB Gio Lopez, wide receiver Keymari Pittman and defensive back Jamal Mayers. However, he believes the collective units are making progress as well.

"I really like our offensive line as a group, collectively. We are going to be big, going to be physical and, man, I am excited about that group. I like that group. On the D-line, we have a couple young defensive ends who are gong to be stepping into the role this year. I expect some big things out of the front. We will be pretty athletic up front, which is what we like defensively for what we do."

"This group this year has probably had one of the best offseason that I have had in 23 years of coaching. They do what we ask them to do. They do things the right way, so, I like where we are with this group. We have some talented players in some spots, just JC-type kids. Blue collar, who will play extremely hard for you."

According to the first-year Jets head coach, everyone knows what Lopez brings to the table, as one of the main contributors to their undefeated regular season.

"I think everyone knows about Gio. With Gio back there, if we give him a little bit of time, he is going to be able to make some things happen. One of his best suits is he does a lot of stuff off-script, too, where it is off the scramble."

In the case of Lopez, Pittman and Mayers, their impact goes farther than impacting the outcome of football games, but they help prepare the next generation of talent as well.

"It is always good to have talented players come back. You have confidence you know they can play, which I think you can develop some other players behind them, because you can get those guys some more reps and you're very confident in the ability of Keymari of Jamal, because they don't need as many reps in practice. Now, it is about development."

McGehee's path to James Clemens involves having a successful playing career at Southside High School in Gadsden and then playing at The University of Alabama. Following that, he started off as a young coach in Georgia high school football in 2000.

His path also has taken him to north Alabama and Limestone County before, as he was the head coach of Elkmont High School for two years, where the Red Devils went 6-4 one season, their first winning season in close to a decade.

He returned to the Georgia ranks by moving to Parkview High School and North Cobb High School, experiencing success at both places.

After one more job at North Paulding High School he returned to Alabama at Hoover High School.

"Coach Niblett called me at Hoover and offered me the defensive coordinator position. So, I went there for three years before accepting this role here."

As for their schedule this season, the Jets wanted to be battle-tested come playoff time.

Their jamboree game is versus Oxford. Their first home game is versus Gardendale and the game following that is versus Mountain Brook, a couple non-region games against Birmingham-area teams.

They also have their annual rivalry matchup with cross-town opponent Bob Jones High School.

While their record is important, McGehee cares more about progress each and every week.

"I am not looking for undefeated seasons. I am looking for improvement and competition that is going to make us better when it matters in November," he said. "We want to compete at a high level. Our kids want to play good competition, and we have good competition week in and week out."

For their offseason, the Jets have put a "huge emphasis" on their strength program, hoping to build into a faster, stronger version of their 10-win, zero-loss season in 2021.

Updates on their season will be provided.