After building a winning program in Concrete, Marcus Carr has returned to Whidbey to coach the Coupeville High School football team. (Photo courtesy Carr)
Marcus Carr is ready for the challenge.
While recent history has not been kind to Coupeville High School football — Carr is the fifth head coach in nine seasons, and none of his four predecessors posted a winning record — positive change can happen quickly on the gridiron.
Having made the jump from Concrete, where he won 13 games across two seasons, the new Wolf head coach is tackling the past head-on, while aiming for future success.
“It is hard on the players with the amount of turnover,” Carr said. “I have had several meetings with the players to discuss the state of the program and my goals and their goals for our future.
“I let them know it will be a process to get where we want to be,” he added. “With hard work and dedication from myself, the assistant coaches and the players, I am confident we will turn things around!”
After playing high school football as a young man in Oklahoma, Carr joined the Navy but never strayed far from the game he loves.
“I like the competition, and teamwork. It’s truly a team sport, no one person can do it alone,” he said. “It also creates great camaraderie.”
He’s led numerous youth teams in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, coaching both in Oak Harbor and Mount Vernon after he and his family arrived on Whidbey in 2005.
Carr moved into high school coaching as an assistant with Mt. Vernon, put in time as an offensive coordinator with the Arlington Grizzles semi-pro team, then took the reins as head coach in Concrete in 2016.
Under his guidance, the Lions went 6-3 in 2016 and 7-3 in 2017, winning the Northwest League title last season.
Since retiring from the Navy in 2012, Carr has balanced living in Oak Harbor with working off the Island. He’s currently doing IT for the Mount Vernon School District.
While he enjoyed his time with the Concrete football program, the chance to run a team on Whidbey had a special lure.
“I have wanted to coach high school football on the Island for several years,” Carr said. “I am excited to have the opportunity.”
With CHS assistants Brad Sherman and Jerry Helm stepping down in an effort to carve out a little more time in busy lives while balancing young children and real-world jobs, the Wolves coaching staff will have a different look this year.
But it should be one operating on the same page, as Carr will be joined by “a staff of coaches that I have coached with before.”
As Coupeville moves into the new 1A North Sound Conference this fall, joining Sultan, King’s, Granite Falls, South Whidbey and Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, the football players will be among the first Wolves to see action.
As they do, their new coach is aiming for success, both in the present and in the future.
“We want to re-energize the program,” Carr said. “Win league and make the playoffs.
“I want our team to be one of the top 10 teams in 1A year after year,” he added. “It won’t happen overnight, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication.
“But, with the energy that the coaching staff has brought in and the hardworking, enthusiastic players we had in spring football, we are on our way!”
Coupeville Sports 