Kennedy's pedigree is 'rare'

By Rex Kirts

Kirk Kennedy said the way he coaches football is "kind of rare now."
The offensive trend in football has swung to the spread formation and making defenses defend the field horizontally. Kennedy doesn't do that. He runs a vertical game with the emphasis on blocking instead of trying to fool defenses with all kinds of formations.
"Control football, fundamentals, field position," Kennedy explained his philosophy.
That's what is coming to South football as Kennedy replaces Drew Wood. The Panthers will line up, for the most part, in an I formation and try to root their way downfield.
"We'll have drives of 12-15 plays," he told the Panthers in Thursday's community meeting at the school. Ball control, first downs. That will be the new Panther way.
AND, OF COURSE, there will be some defense. It's highly critical to teams that play Kennedy's stylE of offense. His defenses at Lowell were strong.
He will pass the ball, but his preference is the running game. What does he do when he gets behind? "Don't panic," he said. "In the fourth quarter more often than not the game will go your way if you're prepared and in condition.
"A lot of what we do is what we did in high school," Kennedy said. "I understand the importance of controlling the football."
Quite often, good coaching is the result of a person's pedigree. That is, who he played under or coached for in high school and college. Kennedy's pedigree is solid.
First of all, his father, Bob, was a high school coach. He retired before Kirk played in high school.
"What I learned from him was the daily routine of coaching," Kennedy said. "The work ethic, organizational skills, the time commitment, building relationships with kids. Everything, really. What it takes to be successful."
Keith Mescher was Kennedy's high school coach.
"HE PLAYED with Phil Simms (former New York Giants quarterback) at Morehead State," Kennedy said. "From Mescher I learned that hard work solves all problems. I learned about accepting responsibility, how to lead, team chemistry, how a team when it comes together can overcome all obstacles."
That's a lot to learn, and Kennedy was able to translate it into coaching and turn a weak Lowell program into a powerhouse.
After high school, Kenneday stepped into an unusual situation in college at Louisville. Bob Weber was the coach when he arrived, but Howard Schellenberger replaced him.
Schellenberger, whose assistant coaching included jobs under Bear Bryant and Don Shula, started with 120 players in the off-season. Before the first game Louisville was down to 48 players, and Kennedy was one of them.
"I WAS A SURVIVOR," he said. He survived because college was it for him, he had, as he said, no other options. "I had a lot of determination. I set the goal of getting through it. It was rough for a while.
Right away with Schellenberger you knew the program was going to go up another level," Kennedy said. "From him I learned accountability and an environment of excellence.
"He had an aura of instant credibility. He improved the facilities. We learned intensity and durability at the workouts. He wanted to make sure those who were left wanted to be there."
Kennedy created his own instant credibility at Thursday's meeting. In a level but firm voice he told the assembled players to "take off your hats, take off the earrings, turn off your cell phones." They did as instructed and did it right away.
STAFF BEING ASSEMBLED: In his first week at South Kennedy began interviewing for his staff. It shoud be announced before long.
"I'm reaching back to some of the people who have been here," he said. "We will have a mixture of veteran experience and youthful enthusiasm."