The Vent | Week 4 Monday Memo: Confessions, Gag Orders & Gentle Parenting

The Vent is presented by our friends at CoachingShare.com. As we head into Week 4, make sure you're utilizing every resource available to your program and finding the competitive advantage you need to win on Friday nights.

** This will be the*__ last edition __of The Vent you can read without a free account. So, go ahead and sign up. It takes about 30 seconds, costs you absolutely nothing, and every edition of The Vent will be delivered directly to your inbox.*******

Hebron Christian: Forgive Me, Father

After back-to-back losses, my DMs have been filled with Hebron Christian parents and stakeholders like I’m a priest taking confession (They Lost the Holy War, so they go to confession, now). Forgive me, Father, for we have lost two straight.

The reality for my brothers and sisters in Christ is fairly simple: Hebron is not as talented as it has been the last few years. If you're asking why that is, your questions probably shouldn't be directed toward the football staff. They should be directed toward school leadership and the conversations, or lack thereof, that have taken place with athletic leadership over the last three years regarding getting kids moved in.

Sometimes the answer isn't scheme, play-calling, or coaching. Sometimes the collection plate just isn't bringing in the same talent it used to and there is a reason for it.

First Wins: Congratulations, Coaches

We would be remiss if we didn't give a shoutout to Coach Greg Carswell for earning his first win as the head coach at Grayson after knocking off Langston Hughes this past week. I know that had to feel like a weight lifted off his shoulders, at least to some degree, and we're genuinely happy to see him get it done.

Carswell wasn't alone. Congratulations are also in order for several coaches who picked up their first wins at their new jobs this week: Diego Dixon at Alcovy, Jamey DuBose at Bainbridge, Rance Morgan at Clinch County, Jason Howard at Coosa, Ashley Henderson at East Jackson, Antonio Andrews at Mundy’s Mill, Jackie Duke at Pataula Charter, Frederick Greene at Salem, Zach Grage at Vidalia, Kenneth Miller at Washington, Jay Ware at Washington County, and Mack McCord at Wilkinson County.

The first one is officially in the books for all of them. Enjoy it. Then it's on to the next one, because high school football has never been particularly interested in allowing coaches much time to celebrate.

The Fired Coaches Scoreboard Show

On the Fired Coaches Scoreboard Show Friday night, we were able to hear directly from coaches in every corner of the state, and that continues to be one of my favorite parts of what this show has become.

We enjoy not getting the canned coach-speak answers, and we appreciate the willingness of coaches to jump in whether they win or lose. It gives them the opportunity to make sure the narrative surrounding their program is coming directly from them and not from somebody sitting 200 miles away trying to figure out what happened from a box score.

The show has quickly become the most watched scoreboard show not only in the state of Georgia, but across the Southeast on Friday nights. If you miss the live broadcast, you can always catch the replay on YouTube, X, and now Spotify.

As always, we'd appreciate you subscribing and leaving a rating. Those little things actually matter and help us continue producing more of this content for you guys every week.

Big Red: I've Been Put Under the Stairs

I have been told there is an apparent gag order in place preventing members of Big Red from appearing on the Fired Coaches Scoreboard Show. The reasoning behind such an order is puzzling, and I, for one, am saddened to hear it.

For the record, this isn't coming from Coach Bryant or anyone on the football staff. I'm told the directive comes from administration, which somehow makes the whole thing even more bewildering.

As a longtime friend, rather a brother, of the program, I can't help but feel betrayed. After everything we've been through together, you've decided to treat me like Harry Potter and put me in the closet under the stairs. Sad!

I thought Big Red believed in family. Apparently, when they post those "US vs. THEM" score updates on social media, I have officially been placed in the THEM column.

North of Macon: Don't Blame the Messenger

Apparently, there is a county athletic director north of Macon who isn't particularly fond of the Fired Coaches platform. Sad! I've been told we're being blamed for coaches speaking their minds publicly and calling attention to situations that directly affect their jobs.

They would apparently rather handle those issues behind closed doors. Quietly. In the dark of night. I didn't realize the required reading for that particular leadership course included Mein Kampf, along with a few supplemental chapters on how to operate like the secret police or the Soviet-era KGB.

If you need somebody to blame, that's fine. I'll gladly be the punching bag. But let's at least remain in the same reality. Coaches aren't speaking out because Fired Coaches suddenly gave them the ability to form sentences. They're speaking out because they believe legitimate problems affecting their programs aren't being adequately addressed.

That's the issue. When the same situations continue happening and the response is another one-on-one conversation behind closed doors, eventually people stop believing the conversations are accomplishing much of anything.

At some point, Gentle Parenting Athletic Administration has to end. You can't keep sitting coaches down, calmly discussing their feelings and sending them back into the world with a juice box. Sometimes you've got to tell them to go out back, pick their switch, and prepare to get that ass beat. Metaphorically, of course. We're already discussing the athletic department. No need to invite HR into this too.

Lee County vs. Colquitt County: The Reunion

Lee County vs. Colquitt County this week, and this one has some layers. It's a reunion for the transfer quarterback and an opportunity for Colquitt County to even its record against Region 2-AAAAAA after dropping Round 1 to Thomas County Central.

There shouldn't be any shortage of familiarity or motivation in this one. Revenge game, reunion game, region pride, transfer storyline. Just go ahead and put all of it in the pot and turn the heat up.

That's all I got. /