Smiths Station names Rose new head football coach

By OANow Staff

Published: March 11, 2008

It didn’t take long for the Lee County Board of Education to decide on Smiths Station’s new head coach.

Just a month after the board voted to fire Woodrow Lowe, the board voted to officially name Mark Rose the school’s next coach.

Rose, a four-year letterman under Pat Dye at Auburn University, comes to Smiths Station after eight seasons heading the program at North Jackson. Rose also has a background with area high schools, coaching as an assistant at Smiths Station and as head coach at Tallassee.

“It’s great to be back here as head coach,” Rose said. “There’s a great passion for football at Smiths Station, and we want to bring them back to prominence.”

Rose met with the current players Smiths Station on Monday and said the response was positive.

“There are some great kids at Smiths Station — some of the best I’ve ever worked with,” Rose said. “It’s exciting and I can’t wait to get back in.

“It’s like family here, and we feel like we’ve been a part of it for a long time.”

Lee County Schools Superintendent Dr. Stephen Nowlin said a number of candidates were interviewed for the job, but in the end Rose was the top choice.

“We had 28 applications, and eight or 10 would have been very good coaches for Smiths Station,” Nowlin said. “We interviewed four that we felt could be top drawer — possibly state-championship caliber.

“While it was a difficult process, it was clear that Mark Rose was the strongest candidate we had.”

Rose took over at North Jackson in 2000, leading the team to a 9-2 record. Following that season, he led the Chiefs to records of 13-1 in 2001 and 14-1 in 2002.

In that 2002 season, North Jackson reached the Class 4A state title game before falling to UMS-Wright.

He tacked on a 12-1 record in 2005 and an 11-1 record 2007 to finish his North Jackson tenure with an 85-15 mark.

But many in the Opelika-Auburn area recognize Rose’s local high school marks.

He was defensive coordinator and strength coordinator at Smiths Station from 1994-1998. He helped lead the Panthers to a 21-4 mark in two years (1996-97), and was a part of the 96 coaching staff that led Smiths Station to its first undefeated regular season since 1967.

After leaving Smiths Station, Rose took the head job at Tallassee in 1998.

He took over a struggling program, leading it to a 7-5 record and an Area title his first year. Rose then led the Tigers to their first 10-0 regular season in 53 years, and finished with a 13-1 record.

In his playing days, Rose won three SEC championships at Auburn from 1986-1989. He was the Tigers’ starting offensive guard on the ’89 championship squad.

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