FAYETTEVILLE -- Benji Mahan is back in his old stomping grounds of the 7A-West Conference. And Fayetteville is hopeful the championship results Mahan helped produce at his previous stops will follow him to the Purple'Dogs.
Mahan, who spent the previous four seasons as head coach at his alma mater Mountain Home, jumped at the opportunity to return to 7A-West Conference coaching. That opportunity came when Fayetteville had a position available on its staff earlier this at the beginning of the spring semester.
Fayetteville Bulldogs
Date^Opponent^Time
Sept. 5^at Lawton (Okla.) Eisenhower^7 p.m.
Sept. 12^North Little Rock^7 p.m.
Sept. 19^at Muskogee, Okla.^7 p.m.
Sept. 26^Fort Smith Northside*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3^at Fort Smith Southside*^7:30 p.m.
Oct 10^Springdale High*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17^Springdale Har-Ber*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24^at Rogers High*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 31^Rogers Heritage*^7:30 p.m.
Nov. 7^at Bentonville*^7:30 p.m.
Profile
Benji Mahan
Age: 38 School: Fayetteville
Position: Wide Receivers
Notable: Graduated from Mountain Home High in 1994. .. Played for Arkansas from 1994-98. .. Defensive line coach at FS Northside, 1999-2001; running backs coach and special teams coordiinator at FS Southside, 2002-04; offensive line coach at Bentonville, 2005-09; head coach at Mountain Home, 2010-13.
"I've known (Fayetteville head) coach (Daryl) Patton for about 15 years and known all about the great program they run here," Mahan said. "Zak (Clark) and I have known each other for years, and Jeb Huckeba and other guys on this staff, we've known each other for a long time.
"I've known a lot of guys here and know the great success they've had. Mr. (Steve) Jacoby is the principal here and he was the principal when I was at Bentonville. So there's a lot of familiar faces and a lot familiarity with being in the conference for so many years. So I'm just thankful it all worked out."
Former defensive coordinator Keith Fimple left for Springdale Har-Ber in January. Patton promoted assistant Wendell Harris to new defensive coordinator and shifted around some coaching assignments within the staff. The new hire would be a wide receivers coach, something Mahan had never done before in his 15-year career.
Patton wasn't worried.
"When I was interviewing and looking for a receivers coach, my philosophy has always been, 'Either you can coach or you can't,'" Patton said. "If you're a good coach it doesn't matter what you're title is, you're going to go out there and find whatever you need to get the job done. You'll be self-driven and and self-motivated and that's what Benji is. I found out very quickly that his demeanor and his energy were unbelievable."
Mahan and Fayetteville were able to work out the details in order to get the new assistant under contract and on the job for much of the spring semester. For the past week, that's meant a full session of spring football drills with a coach who isn't a brand new face to the players.
"When we usually go through this, we don't get it finalized until June or July," Patton said. "So to have him already here is a real big blessing for our kids."
After his playing career at Arkansas ended in 1998, Mahan began his coaching at Fort Smith Northside as defensive line coach from 1999-2001. He worked as running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Fort Smith Southside from 2002-04, then spent five seasons as offensive line coach at Bentonville from 2005-09.
All three places Mahan coached at in the 7A-West Conference have one thing in common. They each won a state championship while he was there, Fort Smith Northside in 1999, Fort Smith Southside in 2002 and Bentonville in 2008.
"I always kid him, he was at Northside and they won a championship. He was at Southside, they win a championship, and at Bentonville, they win a championship," Patton said. "So we're wanting that same outcome."
Mahan isn't closing the door on a return to head coaching. But for now, being back in the 7A-West Conference feels right.
"To me, right now I'm in more of a service role to coach Patton," Mahan said. "Five, 10 or 15 years down the road, who knows. If an opportunity (to head coach) becomes available, then wonderful. But I'm just excited to be where I'm at."
Sports on 05/19/2014