Jimmy Jackson accepts head coaching position at Caruthersville

CARUTHERSVILLE -- Following the resignation of Nathan Morgan, longtime assistant coach Jimmy Jackson has accepted the head coaching position at Caruthersville.

Jackson, who played high school football for the Tigers, has served as an assistant coach for Caruthersville the last four seasons. He also spent one year at Hayti as an assistant in 2009 after playing football for the University of Missouri from 2005-08.

"It's one of those dreams come true," Jackson said. "I played [at Caruthersville] and was able to come back to my hometown. I'm excited."

Jackson's hiring comes off the heels of Morgan's unexpected resignation Wednesday night. Morgan left Caruthersville, a team he took to four Class 2 quarterfinal rounds and one semifinal in 2012 as well as a 43-8 coaching record, to accept an assistant coaching position with Greene County Tech in Paragould, Ark.

"I didn't expect it," Jackson said of Morgan's move. " It caught me off guard seeing as it was this close to the start of the season. But, that's the life of the coach. You have to do what's best for your family and your career. I was kind of shocked, but understood why."

Jackson's role for Caruthersville the last four seasons has been scattered throughout the program. He's served as the offensive coordinator and helped coach a number of different positions along the way.

"I was the offensive coordinator for year but I've done a little bit of everything," said Jackson. "I've coached every position to some extent and I feel like that's crucial for a head coach to have done."

Jackson inherits a talent-rich squad whose been used to success. The Tigers finished last season with an 11-2 mark and ended its season with a fourth-straight quarterfinal appearance.

Although they graduated many seniors, including 2013's Carr Trophy winner Darrell Monroe, Caruthersville returns many key pieces to it's playoff run a season ago. Those include all-state lineman Landon Strickland and Malik Monroe, who is expected to take over for his brother, Darrell.

"I think we have a lot of guys with a lot of ability," Jackson said. "These guys are starting to fill out and hit growth spurts. We have some sophomores that have some size and ability. Landon Stricklin is our best lineman and Malik Monroe should be ready to go.

"Expectations will always be high. I'm an optimistic guy and I believe we have what it takes to be a good football team."

Jackson knows a few things about good football teams in Caruthersville.

In 2003, he won the SEMO Conference Carr Trophy award after leading Caruthersville to an 11-2 record and a Class 2 semifinal appearance. He averaged 10.5 yards per carry, caught 21 passes for 326 yards and scored a conference-best 212 points to go with 35 touchdowns his senior year.

That led to four years at Missouri where Jackson ran for 883 yards and 16 touchdowns primarily as a backup tailback. His best individual season was in 2007 running for 331 yards and seven touchdowns.

He plans to keep Caruthersville's spread offense mostly the same, but add a few "Mizzou wrinkles" here and there.

"When I was at Mizzou I thought we did some exciting things," Jackson said. "You never knew what you would be doing from one week to the next. We'll still have our base plays and it will be very similar but as a new head coach you would expect to have a few wrinkles.

Caruthersville will open the 2014 season with an away game Aug. 22 at Mountain View Liberty which was another Class 2 quarterfinalist.