Sometimes the timing just works out. It looked like Monticello was going to be in a tough spot when its head football coach Jeff Woody resigned and left to return to Lynchburg and coach at E.C. Glass late this winter and after just two years at the helm for the Mustangs. Monticello was left searching for its third coach in four years after having just one in Brud Bicknell era from the start of the school in 1998 until 2011 when Rodney Redd became the program’s second coach. But despite what looks like a turnstile coaching ring with just two years of Redd and two years of Woody, the Mustangs have five straight playoff appearances. Winning attracts winners. And it’s the kind of thing that attracted a coach like Jeff Lloyd to the area.
“I was always intrigued by this job because I knew what type of kids they had,” Lloyd said. “I told my wife after the Regional championship (in 2012) that if that job ever came open I was going to apply for it. It seemed to worked out.”
Lloyd made a big decision this spring in leaving Kettle Run. He’s leaving a winning program for a winning program — a first in his book. And in this case, it just happened to be a perfect fit as he is moving his family to the area. He coached Manassas Park to a perfect 14-0 state title season in 2004 before building Kettle Run into a perennial playoff contender, and from scratch, going 35-12 there.
“Had (the opening and interview process) not gone the way it did I probably would have finished my career (at Kettle Run),” Lloyd said. “This is a school that has had great success. For me the exciting part is this is the first time I don’t have to come in and fix the program or start a program. That’s exciting. Now we’ll see if we can go from good to great.”
Just two and half years ago Lloyd and Monticello butted heads when Kettle Run edged the Mustangs in the then Region II playoffs. Now he takes over a program that hasn’t missed the playoff since 2009. Lloyd is 17-8 in the playoffs and while there will be a change in style from Woody to Lloyd, it doesn’t look to be too dramatic in terms of x’s and o’s.
“I don’t think there will be a huge change, the spread is the spread,” Lloyd said. “The verbage will different so that will be tough on the kids to go from one to another. Defensively I haven’t seen enough on tape but I think we will be a 3-5-3 team or a 4-2-5.”
Lloyd is looking to try and bring in some of his staff from Kettle Run if the options are available but that remains to be seen. On his first day on the job one thing stuck out to Lloyd — everyone on the roster was excited to meet him.
“They were all either on time or early,” Lloyd said. “That was awesome. Just about every single kid came up and introduced themselves. That tells me that we have a bunch of young men of character. That’s important to me.”
