Armwood coach enjoys his view from the top

By KEITH NIEBUHR
Published December 11, 2005

Bold. Outspoken. Confident. Longtime Armwood football coach Sean Callahan is all of the above. And, of course, he's also a winner. On Saturday, Callahan's squad played in the Class 4A final for the third straight year, losing to Ponte Vedra Beach Nease. Before Armwood earned its first championship in 2003, no Hillsborough County program had claimed a title since 1969. Last fall, the Hawks became the first from the county to win back-to-back championships. Callahan, 47, is in his 16th season as Armwood's coach.

You once said you had a lot more friends in coaching before your teams starting winning. Is that true?

Oh, yeah. When people are beating you, they're the first ones to buy you a beer, or come over and hang out and say, "Nice game." But once you start beating a lot of them every week, they ain't inviting you over anymore.

Has that been hard to deal with?

No, it hasn't been. Guys that win like (Hillsborough coach) Earl Garcia and (Jefferson coach) Mike Simmonds are fine with me. It's the guys that are losing year in and year out and have never won a playoff game that are fussing all the time and pointing fingers.

What's your response to those who say you recruit?

That there is no recruiting. If anything, people are beating down our doors to get in. It's been like this since before we were winning state championships. I'm not going to apologize for our success. People want to say we're doing this or doing that, but obviously there's no proof. If there was proof and they had it, they'd show it. They'd turn it in and get me in trouble. But there is no proof of that. The thing is, (Hillsborough quarterback) Jarred Fayson is zoned for Armwood, but he chose to go to another school, which is fine. I don't have a problem with that. I will never accuse anybody of recruiting. When I was struggling, I never pointed the finger. My philosophy is that if you don't want to be at Armwood, go away. We don't want you.

You were actually punished once for recruiting, though. (Callahan was found guilty because of a letter he sent to future NFL offensive lineman Mike Pearson in 1995.)

Yes, and I totally admitted it. There was no denying it. They sent an investigator down and I admitted that I wrote the letter to Mike Pearson and talked to him. I was young and made a mistake. But what's funny is that even after I got nailed, Mike still found his way to Armwood.

What one thing is more important than all others to winning a state title?

I can't really put my finger on it. For us, we hang our hat on two things: The coaching staff and our offseason conditioning program. I read a column in our paper where your wife talked about how strange it was that your career was in the hands of teenagers. Do you agree?

I used to say that statement a lot. But I made it my passion to make sure they were eligible and to know them very well off the field. That way, I always know what's going on in their life. And if something is going on, it isn't hard to figure it out.

What's the best coaching advice you've gotten?

Keep it simple.

How about the worst move you ever made?

When I first started, I sat in the office with a coach from the University of Miami. I tried to implement the UM offense and went 2-8. What I learned is that you can't throw the ball all over the place. You have to set up the pass with the run and that's our philosophy.

After all the success, do some people still question your coaching?

Oh, yeah. After we won our second state championship, somebody in the stands hollered at me, "Callahan, when are you going to throw the ball?"

If you weren't coaching, what would you be doing?

Probably selling tomatoes on the corner.

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]