Today’s interviewee is Keith Maloof, who retired this week after 26 seasons as head coach at Norcross, three as coach at Tucker and 40 seasons overall on high school sidelines. His 210 victories at Norcross are the most for a coach in Gwinnett County history. His Norcross teams won state titles in 2012 and 2013. Maloof is the son of the late George Maloof, who was St. Pius’ coach for 26 seasons; the brother of Kevin Maloof, a former Meadowcreek and Dacula head coach; and the father of Tyler Maloof, Lanier’s current coach. Longtime assistant Corey Richardson was named Maloof’s successor.
1. What prompted the decision to call it a career? Why now? “Just the fact that it’s 40 years, and that number has always stuck in my mind. My Dad retired after 40 years. Norcross has been a great place for us as a family. Both of my sons [Tanner and Tyler] went to Norcross and played for me and eventually coached with me. To come to this decision is bittersweet, and it’s hard to walk away, but we’ve got six grandchildren – three by Tanner and Laura Beth and three by Tyler and Dana – and Lisa [Maloof’s wife] and I want to go to kids’ events, and we want to travel and just wake up and do whatever we want to do. I’ll still be involved at Norcross helping Corey raise money, and I’ll still be in the community, and I’ll help Tyler raise money at Lanier. I’ll still hang around the sport because of them. But it was time to go. I felt this was as good a time as any. The program is in great shape, and it’s been very successful for 26 years.”
2. What’s your best memory as a coach, or maybe your proudest moment? “That’s a hard question. Each team stood on its own merit and had its own story. Obviously the 2012 and ‘13 teams that won state titles stand out, but there were other teams just as special that didn’t win a state championship. As far as a point of pride, I think it’s the consistency of the program. If you look over those 26 years, we never had a losing regular season playing in one of the state’s, if not the nation’s, toughest counties. We’ve been in the top three getting kids in college. We played at a high level year after year and had some teams that could beat anybody. A lot of that came from an administration that was very supportive of athletics and letting us find people who fit into our philosophy. We had some good coaches, some that went on to be head coaches and superintendents. The support the community has given for 26 years, taking care of our kids, making pregame meals, has been great. We’ve had parents who trusted you with their kids. And you can’t do this job without a supportive person at home. My wife, Lisa, she’s been unbelievable.”
3. As far as opponents go, was there a team or player you played against that stood out as maybe the best? “In over 40 years of coaching, there have been a lot of great ones that played against and for us. Even in my early years when I was at Dacula [coaching under his brother, Kevin], we faced Timmy Smith back in the day [at Central Gwinnett]. He was unbelievable. [Smith was a running back who set country records in the early 1990s.]
“Then Jeff Francoeur and that group came along at Parkview [and won state titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002, going 45-0. Maloof also mentioned the 1997 Parkview state champion with Jon Stinchcomb.]
“I’d also go back and look at Peachtree Ridge when they had Cameron Heyward and Kevin Minter. They had a lot of great athletes. We had some great games with them. [Norcross beat Peachtree Ridge 6-3 in 2006, though Peachtree Ridge went on to win the state title that year. Heyward and Minter played in the NFL. Heyward is still active.]
“Then there was North Gwinnett one year when we lost to them in the regular season and ended up having to play them in the state championship game. [That was 2013. Norcross was ranked No. 1 when beaten by North Gwinnett 36-17 in the region opener, and North Gwinnett was No. 1 when Norcross won 31-14 for the Class 6A championship.]
4. What’s the best advice you’d give to a young coach? “The thing that I try to tell all these young guys is do not cut corners. You might win a few games cutting corners, but you’re going to lose more down the road because you didn’t lay the foundation needed to be successful year in and year out. We’re in a different era now with kids moving around from program to program. You can’t depend on that. Take the guys you have and develop them. If people move in or out, you’re not going to stress over it because you’ve built your program the way it’s supposed to be built. And I tell coaches all the time, you’ve got to get your ninth grade out to play football. You need 40 or 50 every year. You’re not going to retain them all [for four years], but build relationships with them. We like to have six to eight ninth-grade coaches to build those relationships and show them you care about them. They might not play right away, but if you can develop them in the weight room, by the time they’re juniors and seniors, they’re helping you because they stuck with it. You really need depth in the league we play in because somebody is always going to get hurt, and you’ve got to have somebody ready.”
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