After four years as defensive coordinator, Reeves takes over as Gig Harbor’s head coach
Gig Harbor has entered a new era with Darrin Reeves at the helm.
After finishing last season with the 3A SSC’s top-ranked defense in points allowed, the Tides named former defensive coordinator Reeves as the team’s newest head coach.
The search, which began with 15 candidates, was narrowed to six for an interview panel comprised of team parents, coaches, and two current players. They landed on Reeves, who succeeds former coach George Fairhart, and announced the hire in a release Friday.
Gig Harbor is exactly where Reeves wants to be, he told The News Tribune.
“I just feel blessed, really,” Reeves added. “It’s just amazing to have this opportunity to lead a great program with a great community, and not have to go anywhere else.”
Gig Harbor finished 6-4 last season, and allowed a conference-best 16 points per game. Throughout four years as coordinator, Reeves’ message to his defense was clear: “know what you’re doing, fly, and tackle.” They’ll look to replicate that performance this fall, and shift focus to the offense, which Reeves says could benefit from an uptick in tempo.
They’re expecting at least seven returning starters on both sides of the ball, including junior standouts in quarterback Will Landram and lineman Nic Fortney. That experience, paired with a shift in play style, could pay dividends for a Tides team that ranked fourth in points scored in the conference.
“Tempo helps keep everybody more involved (and) connected,” Reeves said. “More consistent on assignments. … Having a year under most of the guys coming back will help. Just hammer home where our assignment is, go out and execute, and I think that tempo will help us stay more engaged.”
Reeves was an all-conference fullback for Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and began coaching as a graduate assistant at Northeastern State University in 2011. After assuming defensive line coach duties for Muskogee High School in Oklahoma, he joined Stadium High School as an assistant head coach and helped lead the Tigers to their first playoff appearance in team history in 2016.
Thomas Ford, now a running backs coach for the University of Idaho, was Stadium’s head coach at the time. Prior to that, Ford coached Reeves at Southeastern Oklahoma State, and later recruited Reeves to Stadium’s staff, prompting a move to the Northwest.
“When I got done playing, we always sort of talked about coaching together, and (we) had an opportunity,” Reeves said. “I… wouldn’t be in the Pacific Northwest if it wasn’t for him.
“He’s absolutely the reason that I am here and am able to have the Gig Harbor job now.”
With an already-thriving defense, transforming the offense and its tempo remains a priority. But Reeves is working with Gig Harbor Sports Boosters in hopes of upgrading the team’s weight room and equipment. He wants expanded hours for training facilities, to “ensure the football program is ready to roll come the first game of the season,” Friday’s release said.
And Reeves acknowledged he has big shoes to fill, given Fairhart’s impact on the program across his five-year tenure.
Reeves strives to learn from each of his former coaches, and said that Fairhart’s heart was made of gold. He was positive with players, and he put them first.
That’s what Reeves wants to emulate most.
“My son’s at the age where (my players) might be coaching my son,” Reeves said. “When they leave the program, I want to make sure that they’re leaving it (as) the best leader that they can be. … I’m helping this generation that’s going to raise my kids, if that makes sense.
“That’s my goal outside of football. Football is amazing, there’s amazing talent, but they’re also amazing human beings, because they are the leaders of the future. That’s my end goal, is to create the best leaders that we can.”
Gig Harbor, aside from Reeves’ hiring, expects “some new faces” on the coaching staff for the upcoming season, though the school has yet to make further announcements. Certain individuals have to inform their current employers of the change, the Gig Harbor release said.
Reeves will host an upcoming parent and player meeting to share his vision for the future of the program. According to the release, Reeves will answer questions and introduce Gig Harbor’s additional hires.
His first game as Gig Harbor’s head coach kicks off at Roy Anderson Field on Sep. 2, when the Tides host Spanaway Lake.
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
