CEDAR BLUFF – Another of Cherokee County’s coaching legends has decided to hang up the whistle.
Cedar Bluff’s Jonathan McWhorter, who has guided the Tiger football program the past 15 seasons, was approved by the Cherokee County Board of Education as the school’s new assistant principal on Wednesday evening. He is stepping down from coaching after a 121-58 record, which includes two Class 1A state championship game appearances in 2006 and 2015. The Tigers posted 13-2 records in both of those seasons.
McWhorter also led the Tigers to five region championships and 14 playoff appearances in his head coaching career. He also guided them into Class 2A for the first time in school history back in 2018. The Tigers dropped back down to 1A last year, where they went 6-5.
McWhorter met with the Tiger football players on Thursday morning to make the announcement to them.
“That’s never the easy part of any transition,” McWhorter said. “I think if you ask any coach, that’s always the hardest thing, telling people we’re going to make a change. In my case, I’m not necessarily leaving, but we’re making a transition. That’s just part of it. I did want them to hear that from me.
“Like I told the kids, I’m not really going anywhere. I’m just switching offices. It’ll be a new challenge. I’m excited and looking forward to that.”
After being the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for four seasons, McWhorter’s head coaching career began with a bang in 2006. He was hired to replace Steve Smith, who moved on to Piedmont. McWhorter guided the Tigers to their first 13-win season and the Class 1A state title game for the first time in school history. Cedar Bluff finished as state runner-up to Sweet Water that year.
The Tigers returned to the state championship game in 2015, where they finished state runner-up again, this time to Maplesville.
Although those were special seasons for McWhorter and the Cedar Bluff community, McWhorter said he will most remember the relationships he’s made throughout the years more than anything.
“People always point to those. Those are special for our school and our community, and they were great opportunities for us as a program and as a school. Those are fond memories, but there are just as many that maybe we had a 7-4 year or 6-5 year,” McWhorter said.
“This past year was kind of one of those where people look at a record on paper and say they had a down year, but some of those in my opinion are the best coaching jobs. You remember some of those things too. It’s not always the state championship years or trips to the semifinals or third round of the playoffs or region championships. All those things are special too. It’s hard to pick one year out and say that was my favorite. They’re all different. There’s something from all of them that I’ll remember.
“A lot of people will say the wins and the ball games, but you remember the times in the weight room, the summer camps, things at practice, and some ball games too, but mostly it’s the people. At the end of the day, it’s about helping these kids grow and develop into young men. Hopefully we’ve had a positive impact with that.”
McWhorter said he wasn’t actively seeking to leave coaching the Tigers. The assistant principal’s job became available when Jeff Walls recently announced his retirement. McWhorter applied for the post and was hired. His new duties will begin July 1.
“My master’s degree is in educational leadership, and I felt like at some point in my career I would transition to school administration,” McWhorter said. “It’s one of those things where you don’t set a day or a year (to leave coaching). It’s just kind of when the opportunity presents itself or when you feel like it’s time to make that transition. In this case for me, I think it was both.
“Mr. Walls, our assistant principal, decided around spring break he was going to retire. That was not necessarily something that had been expected. That opportunity presented itself, and I’ve been thinking and praying about this for a while now. I wanted to still be at Cedar Bluff. It was just one of those things, and it’s just kind of how it worked out. I’m a big believer things happen for a reason and God opens doors. I felt like after talking with my wife and my daughter, I felt like this was an opportunity I needed to pursue, and I did.”
Cedar Bluff’s Jonathan McWhorter