By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Even in the midst of dozens of people on the sideline, being a head football coach can often seem like a lonely job.

Players are worried about playing (and playing time). Assistant coaches are worried about the position groups they are involved in and not much else. 

And the head coach? He’s got everything to worry about. Good luck with all that.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who knows about all that goes into being a head coach, which can include anything from decision-maker to locker room sweeper.

Calvary’s Rodney Guin doesn’t have that problem. He’s the head coach of the Cavaliers, but he’s not the only one on the sideline who knows about being in that position.

He doesn’t just have one assistant who was once a head coach. Or two. This year, there are three assistants at Calvary who have previously served as head coach.

“It’s reassuring, for sure, and helpful,” Guin said. “They catch a lot of stuff that other coaches might not catch. They understand what I do day-to-day and what things have to be done, because they’ve been there.”

Offensive line coach James Wilkerson was head coach at Natchitoches Central for three years.

Safeties coach John Bachman, Jr., was head coach at Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio for five years.

Quarterbacks coach Steven Geter has twice been the head coach at Loyola, totaling nine years.

“I’ve always said I want the best people here coaching our kids,” Guin said. “There are no egos here. I wasn’t afraid that we’d get all of these guys who have been head coaches and there’d be a bunch of backdoor stuff. We want to do the best for our kids. I don’t care whose suggestion it is.”

Geter has even more of a perspective on this, because in 2017, when he was at Loyola, he was also the head coach on a staff with three former head coaches (Alan Carter, Pat Maxey, Kendrick Law).

“You never know about all the things you have to deal with unless you’ve been a head coach,” Geter said. “And it’s not just the pressure of the game, it’s having the ability to bounce things off other coaches to know what has worked for them or what hasn’t worked. Plus, when you get in big situations in a game, it’s nice to be on the headset and say ‘What do you think?’“

“It’s not that I’m second-guessing myself, but those guys have got a lot of experience,” Guin said. “It’s good to have a check on me, too. They were told Day One that if they see something we need to do different, don’t worry about me. You need to tell me. That’s how we have all operated since we have all been here.”

Guin and his head-coach-laden staff have been busy this week preparing for Newman in the Division III (select) playoffs. The 12-0 Cavaliers, seeded No. 2, will take on third-seeded Newman (11-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Jerry Barker Stadium with a trip to the state finals on the line. 

“Rodney and I have had several situations in the last couple of years where we’d talk about what we think the right move is,” Geter said. “I just give my opinion, and he either goes with it or against it. If he had a gut feeling and went with it, I understand that. I’m always going to support him on that. I’m just there to offer any assistance whenever he asks for it.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com