For new head coach Jonathan Darby, creating relationships is the best part of the job.

“I love working with high schoolers because I feel like they are at a crucial age. It is a perfect blend of everything because they’re mature but also don’t have everything figured out,” Darby said. “Working with high school students is super rewarding.”

It is hard to believe that coaching and teaching wasn’t always his end goal. Growing up Darby always thought he would end up fighting fires, or engineering a new project, but thanks to a coach he had in college, his whole career path shifted.

“Becoming a coach was kind of a lot of luck for me. I got hurt my junior year and became a student coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU),” Darby said. “Once I wasn’t able to play anymore, I became a lot more involved in things like film, and I was always in and out of my coaches’ offices socializing and learning more about the game.”

Darby continued his student coaching career at SWOSU for a few years before accepting a job offer as a grad assistant at Texas Christian University (TCU). Although working at TCU was at a higher level, he realized he wanted more out of his career.

“Everyone thought I was crazy for leaving TCU. I knew I was doing the right thing though. I got in contact with Coach Josh Gibson through a mutual friend who was recruiting in East Texas. Gibson invited me to Texarkana for a weekend, and I was able to come and see the school and meet some of the players,” Darby said. “After that visit everything just felt right. I knew the football side was going to be awesome, but I never knew how great the relationships and connections would be for me.”

Since moving to PG in 2019, Darby got married, and he and his wife Paige had their first child, Harrison, and they are expecting their daughter very soon.

“Having Harrison has made me appreciate the value of time. I think he also changed my perspective on how to deal with kids, and how I look at kids more,” Darby said. “I now look at kids as though they were more of my own. Harrison has really just given me a different viewpoint.”

In reality Darby’s viewpoint is not much different than it’s always been — he’s always been aware of the impacts teachers can have on their students and has tried to make sure he has a positive impact.

“I would say the greatest advice I have,” Darby said, “is to treat people the way you want to be treated and to just be a nice person.”