Retiring coach Rodney Walker was ‘always looking for a challenge’

Rodney Walker is one of 10 head football coaches to win 300 games in Georgia, but no coach won at more places than he did.

Walker, the Mary Persons head coach who retired last week after 43 seasons, was led football programs at 10 schools, nine in Georgia. Eight of his Georgia teams made the playoffs.

His 1984 West Rome won a state championship, and his 1998 team from Peach County and 1988 team at Stephens County were state runners-up. His former players include Calvin Johnson, Kedric Golston and Ken Swilling.

‘’I was always looking for a challenge,’’ said Walker, whose final record was 302-150-3. “Looking back, I moved to a lot of places. I’ve been pretty happy at every place I’ve been. I liked the place and my job, but going and rebuilding programs is a lot of fun. I’ve got a lot of friends and memories in a lot of places.’’

Walker is a native of Forsyth and played at Mary Persons under Dan Pitts, another 300-game winner whom Walker considers a mentor. After his senior season at Mary Persons, Walker helped Pitts coach in spring practice and then summer camp in Tifton before going off to college.

Walker coached three years in South Carolina before returning to Georgia in 1971. His first head coaching job in Georgia was at Villa Rica in 1972. That’s the only one of nine Georgia schools that he coached that failed to make the playoffs. He went 8-2 in his second season, the team’s best record in six years.

His other stops were Gilmer (1975-78), Habersham Central (1979-83), West Rome (1984), Cartersville (1985), Stephens County (1986-93), Peach County (1994-98), Sandy Creek (1999-98) and Mary Persons (2006-11). All made the playoffs at least once.

One team stood out among the others.

“It would be hard to beat that ’84 West Rome team,’’ Walker said. “They were pretty good. Probably the ’98 team at Peach got more out of its ability than any team I’ve coached. There was no reason for that team talent-wise to play for a state championship except for heart.’’

Walker also praised his final team at Mary Persons for its improvement from start to finish. The team won its first playoff game since 2005, the year that Walker returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach.

For the previous six seasons, Walker was head coach at Sandy Creek. His son, Chip, succeeded him in 2006 and won a state title there in 2010. Rodney Walker and Chip Walker were the first father and son to win state titles in Georgia. Ray Lamb and Hal Lamb became the second in 2011.

‘’Those years at Sandy Creek were really special because there weren’t any expectations because they had not been that good,’’ Walker said. “To see them flourish and what Chip has accomplished has been a highlight of my career.’’

Walker said one reason he chose to retire now was to have more time to watch Chip Walker’s oldest son, a sophomore, play at Sandy Creek. Walker said that his health is good. He had a heart attack in 1992 and heart bypass surgery in 1995.

‘’I’m feeling good; I just felt it was time,’’ Walker said. “I’ve raised everybody else’s kid, and I want to watch mine a little bit. Forty-three years is a long time.’’