WENTWORTH – Rockingham County High School recently announced their new head football coach Doug Robertson. The hire was approved by the Rockingham County School’s Board of Education on Monday night.
“We are very fortunate and blessed to have Doug and we are looking forward to him leading Cougar football in the direction it is already trending and taking us to the next level. We had a great season this year making it to the state playoffs and finishing 7-4 overall and we just want to keep moving in that direction and Doug is the perfect guy for that. He comes in with a resume that is untouchable. He’s good with the kids, he’s good with the coaches and he’s good for our kids, our program and our school,” Rockingham County Athletics Director Adrian Doss said.
Robertson takes over for Brad Baker who spent seven seasons at the helm and finished with an overall record of 32-41. His most successful season was the inaugural in 2017 where the Cougars closed out the season with a 9-4 record.
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Robertson, who played high school football at Reidsville prior to graduating in 1995 under North Carolina Hall of Fame Coach Jimmy Teague, was an offensive lineman and a two-time all-conference selection. He played at the next level at Guilford College and went on to get his master’s degree at Delta State University, where he played a roll in winning the 2000 NCAA Division II championship as a graduate assistant. Robertson went back to Reidsville in 2001 as an assistant under Teague and served as the defensive coordinator through the 2008 season. Those teams won four state championships during that span. Robertson took over the Reidsville head job before the 2009 season winning the state championship after Teague left for an out-of-state job.
Robertson has been teaching and coaching for 23 years with additional stints as a football head coach at Person, Eastern Guilford, Thomasville and Page. During his coaching career, Robertson has been recognized as a Conference Coach of the Year multiple times.
Robertson will be teaching at Rockingham County High School as well as being the head football coach. Rockingham County High School is coming off of a 7-4 overall season after making their first playoff appearance since 2017.
Cougar Nation had a Meet the Coach Night to introduce Robertson to the team, Baker’s remaining staff and public in the RCHS Commons & Auditorium Thursday evening.
“I just want to serve the kids here at Rockingham. I feel like I’m coming home so-to-speak. Obviously being a Reidsville graduate, it’s not my high school, but it is my home county. So my job is to serve these kids here at Rockingham County and make them the best they can be. Whatever that looks like. I’ll work day and night to serve these kids and make sure they are good football players and No. 1, that they are good people when they leave here and to have those qualities that make them proud when they do leave here,” Robertson said.
Robertson holds an overall career win-loss record of 114-71. He said after leaving Page, he came to a realization.
“Getting back to grass roots is what I figured out. I think this is a place where I could end my career. It allows me to be close to my dad. My dad is getting older and it allows me to be around a little more and help him. It will be good to get home a little earlier to my wife and our kids are moving on so we will be empty nesters. I’ve got one out of college and one going into college, so I’ll be able to see them more too. It’s just a good fit for my situation and my life right now. And I’ll be able to be with these kids throughout their high school playing careers,” said Robertson.
Robertson said he’s not sure about the specifics regarding staff yet, but it is something he plans to address in the near future.
“I just got through with meeting with the staff and obviously they will get the first chance to interview with me so I can make sure they want to be here. I want to see what their goals are. I’ve already reached out to a few guys to see if they would be interested, but in high school football you have to see what teaching positions open up and what pieces are going to fit the puzzle to get a good staff. That’s my job is to make sure these kids get a good staff. I do believe in quality over quantity. If we don’t find them right away, we’ll go back at it next year until we find them,” Robertson said.
He’s taking the same approach in regards to making decisions on what type of offense and defense he will run because it all depends on the strength of personnel.
“Our goal going in every week is to give these kids the tools and they believe if we can do these things, we can win and that is our job as coaches. We’ve also got to put in a plan that makes us believe that. I like to think that every time we go out, we’ve got a chance to win the football game and if we do these things, we will. When you are playing some of these teams – Eastern Guilford, Reidsville, Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, you’ve got to be pretty sound or they are going to make you pay. And if you are not, you don’t deserve to win those games,” said Robertson.