Warner Robins head coach and AD Marquis Westbrook is the right man for the job

Stepping

into the driver’s seat of one of the state’s most decorated high school

football programs fresh off of back-to-back 5A state title game appearances can

be quite daunting but all Warner Robins first-year head coach Marquis Westbrook

is interested in is winning the day. Every day.  “Our record says a lot but the day-to-day things and

the effect you have on kids is the thing I judge myself on, said Westbrook.

Last

Friday, while the Demons were in a close game with Thomas County Central High

School -that only last for as half as Warner Robins held them scoreless the

rest of the way- Westbrook could be seen strolling the sidelines coaching up

the players on the field while easing the tension on the sidelines. This is his

first season as a head football coach but one couldn’t tell by his demeanor. He

looks like he’s been here before, with his black-framed glasses and neat

appearance making him seem more professorial than the men that have walked the

Demons sidelines before him.

Just trying to win every week

These

days the Demons are doing quite well on the field. The 7-1 overall record and

undefeated region record, 2-0 after defeating Thomas County by 35 points Friday

night, is identical to the 2018 team’s record en route to playing Bainbridge

for a state title in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. What is different however is the

man at the front of the train that is Warner Robins football. The right man for

the job in 2016, Mike Chastain, is currently the head football coach at Jones County

High School. The right man for the job today is Westbrook and the proof is in

the pudding. Asked how he thinks things are going heading into yet another

important region game, this one in Bainbridge Friday, Westbrook believes all is

well in Demon country. With just two games remaining in the regular season the

playoff picture is becoming clearer and the Demons are looking at themselves in

the mirror. Westbrook agrees.

“It

feels good,” said the husband and father of two. “I have a really

good staff and our guys are playing well. We have a different make up [from

last year’s team] and we are starting to click offensively.”

That

can be taken as an understatement. The Demons have won four games in a row with

a mix of impressive defensive efforts -they shut out Northside during a 39-0

whomping- and equally as impressive offense-each of the four victories have

been by 15 points or more. “I want to make sure we win ball games, but I

want to be sure we do it the right way and top out on our potential,” said

Westbrook.  

For

the past two seasons and counting the potential for this team has meant winning

the region title and making their way through the state playoffs.

“Everybody wants to win state, honestly we are just trying to win every

week,” said Westbrook.

7-1

Warner Robins will play 7-1 Veterans in three weeks time. “We try not to

look too far ahead,” added Westbrook of the game that can possibly decide

the region title and home field advantage for the start of the postseason.

Family Business

Part

of doing things the right way in the Westbrook era is taking care of business

in the classroom. The coach makes frequent visits to teachers and talks to

parents about how his players are doing in school and at home. Being on a

Marquis Westbrook coached football team and the responsibilities of that role

do not end when the Friday night lights turn off every week.  “I want to see kids do well on and

off the field,” he said.

Westbrook’s

quarterback, junior first-year starter Jalen Addie, is one of the players I

mentioned when discussing how the transition has been handled by players that

experienced making it north to Atlanta last season. Roles have changed and

Addie’s role as a backup quarterback and part-time receiver has been upgraded

more than any other young man on that roster. “Friday night was a really

good testament of who Jalen is,” said Westbrook of the player most

associated with the success or failure of this team. “He’s learning a lot

about himself and I think he has a tremendous future. As he goes we go.”

As

important as Addie’s play has been to the team and his future as a

student-athlete, Westbrook’s presence has been equally as important according

to the young quarterback. “He’s a great man,” said Addie about Westbrook

recently. “He helps with anything and would give you the shirt off his back if

it came down to it.”

Another

important piece to the success of this first year as a head football coach is

Westbrook’s family. A coach’s wife and kids have a different level of

importance when we are talking about football in the south, and particularly in

middle Georgia. The Westbrooks are no different. “My wife has been a

blessing, she makes sure our kids are taken care,” said Westbrook who

admits that the job of head football and athletic director has long hours that

leave him with less time to see about the little things that make being a

father and husband so special, like Friday nights at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

Neither of the Westbrooks are originally from Warner Robins. “My wife is

getting immersed into the whole Demon nation hype.”

Learning as he goes

The

only African-American head football coach in the 75-year history of Warner

Robins is figuring things out. “You know, the administrative side of the

job,” Westbrook said with a laugh, “I’m still figuring that out. I’m

learning that leadership doesn’t stop. People rely on you for answers and

whether you have the answer or not I lean on God to help me find it, and get me

through the stuff I don’t know about just yet.”

Every

day on the job gives Westbrook an opportunity to learn what it takes to be a

head coach and run what is essentially a business. High school football in

Georgia, like most states in the south, is big business and Westbrook has

support from people around him, making it easier to deal with the ups and downs

of the business.

“He

is an amazing leader, role model, and coach and I can’t say enough great things

about him and our staff,” said Warner Robins High School Principal Chris

McCook.

“Coach

Westbrook is a great man, he’s someone you can call if needed,” said senior

receiver Marcayll Jones. “He holds everyone accountable and the team has much

respect for him.”

What

Westbrook doesn’t seem to be having any issue with these days is his football

team. “I’m glad he’s our head coach because he actually cares about us as young

men not just players,” said Jones.

The

right man for the job indeed.

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