Sports have many trends. Players on playoff teams sometimes refuse to shave or wash their undergarments if their team is on a winning streak.
Another trend many teams, including high schools and college sports as well as professionals have is to not change coaches.
The NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers employed only two coaches, Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher during a 37-year period before handing the reigns over the current coach Mike Tomlin.
As for EC, the Warriors have employed seven coaches since 1947, with current coach John Featherstone having the longest tenure of any of those coaches.
With Featherstone at the helm, his Warrior football teams have gone a combined 183-74-1 in his 23 years as coach, winning nine conference championships, two state championships and one national championship.
Featherstone is not just a coach without any links to EC before beginning coaching here. He was a wide receiver under coach Ken Swearingen in 1967-68 before transferring to San Diego State University to play under coach Don Coryell, who is currently the all-time wins leader for the Aztecs.
Featherstone is aware that he is unable to coach forever and acknowledged that he can’t do it forever.
“As a coach, you need to be yourself, you need to remain true to yourself,” Featherstone said. “You can’t try to be someone you are not, and you always need to be loyal and respectful to your players, your coaches and especially the game.”
While many coaches may change their coaching schemes or philosophies, Featherstone said he has not changed his philosophies much at all in his 37-year coaching career, which started in 1970 and was interrupted for a year in order for him to complete his master’s degree in physical education.
Recently, Jerry Sloan, coach of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, collected his 1,000th win with the Jazz. Sloan has been a mainstay in the NBA with the Jazz, as he is currently the longest tenured coach in the NBA, having spent three seasons in Chicago before taking the reigns of the Jazz.
While Sloan did collect a milestone victory, many of the teams he coached over that 20-year span were led by such greats as Karl Malone and John Stockton. One thing still missing from Sloan’s resume is an NBA championship.
Sloan reached the NBA finals in 1997 and 1998, only to be defeated both seasons by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
While Featherstone and Sloan coach different sports on different levels, they still have the same goal: to win championships.
While Featherstone has accounted for more championships than Sloan, he is still not finished winning games and championships.
“When I retire, I want to have the most wins of any football coach in junior college football,” Featherstone said.
That is not a bad feat for someone who has been coaching on the same sideline for 23 years, but Featherstone knows he wouldn’t be able to do it without many of the coaches he has worked with over the years.
