By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
Marc Edge may be new to T.R. Miller, but T.R. Miller is not new to him.
The Tigers' new offensive and defensive linemen coach saw plenty of T.R. Miller during the 10 years he coached at Daleville High School, eight of which he served as an assistant coach (for linebackers, offensive line and defensive coordinator) and two as a head coach.
"We played at T.R. Miller in the 1990 playoffs in the second round and lost to them that year. We then met them again at our place in 1991 and lost to them again. Then in 1992 we played them again and this time we beat them. We played them for a fourth time in the 1994 playoffs and lost. It didn't take long to figure out if you wanted to win a state championship, the road went through Brewton," Edge said. "I've kept a close eye on what they have done. I've watched a lot of their playoff games and saw their second, third and fourth-round games last year."
Ironically Edge turned down a chance to join the T.R. Miller staff in 1996.
"The coaching staff here hasn't let me forget that," Edge said. "Actually I've become good friends with a lot of their staff over the last 10 years or so. I've gotten to know Coach (Jamie) Riggs, Coach (Jim) Hart, Coach (Alan) Baker and Coach (Jack) Whigham and Coach (Eddie) Brundidge very well and we've become good friends."
Edge, who graduated from Thorsby High School and Samford University, was promoted to head coach at Daleville in 1998 and spent two years in that role before he left in 2000 for an assistant coaching position at Robert E. Lee High School near Montgomery where he served time as offensive coordinator and offensive linemen coach.
"I was very comfortable at Daleville. There weren't many jobs I would have taken to leave there but the one at Robert E. Lee was one of them. T.R. Miller was another. I just didn't feel the time was right to come here in 1996, but now it is," Edge said.
Both Edge and Brundidge, who was hired earlier in the summer, have spent time as head football coaches along with Riggs.
"Even the other assistant coaches who haven't been head coaches are probably head football coaching matierial, but haven't done so. I think the experience we have as a group blends together well. We've got a lot of good ideas," Edge said. "Going from assistant coach to head coach back to assistant coach wasn't hard for me to do after I left Daleville. As a head coach, the responsibility of the whole program falls on your shoulders. As an assistant coach, you can concentrate on just coaching."
As offensive and defensive linemen coach, Edge expects certain things from his T.R. Miller players.
"I want those players to be physical and aggressive, but I want them to do it in a smart way. The standards have been set pretty high here, but I think our players know that," Edge said.
Edge has some familiarity with the new Class 3A Region 1 alignment of T.R. Miller, W.S. Neal, Pike County,
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Straughn, Dale County, Abbeville, Headland and Slocomb.
"I've been with teams who have either played those teams in the playoffs or have a lot of common opponents. It's a good level of football with a lot of great teams and great individual players," Edge said.
Edge will be teaching at Brewton Elementary School.