Arkansas' second winningest high school football coach announces retirement

The 2018 football season will be Mike Malham's last at Cabot High School.

Malham, the state's second winningest coach with 297 victories, will retire after this season, he said in a news release from the Cabot School District.

Cabot has won two state championships under Malham (1983, 2000) and has been a state runner-up three times and a semifinalist eight times.

Malham, 65, arrived at Cabot in 1981 and enters his 38th season running the Dead-T offense. He said he and his wife Alexis have discussed retirement for several years, and he wants to spend more time with his family -- son Matt (a Cabot assistant), daughter Lexi, and grandchildren Molly and Matthew (Matt's children).

"I felt like it was time," said Malham, a 2015 Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee. "Friday nights are great. But it's a grind. It's tough. It's a long week to get ready.

"41 years, it's a pretty good stretch."

Cabot Athletic Director Rob Coleman, a 1985 graduate of the school, lauded Malham's career.

"The first thing you think about with Cabot is Coach Malham," Coleman said. "He's an icon in this town, and he's a legend in high school football in the state of Arkansas."

Coleman said there's no timetable to hire Malham's replacement.

Ellis "Scooter" Register, who retired in February after a 43-year coaching career in the state, said Malham always has his teams prepared.

"Some people call him an old-school coach, but he's won," Register said. "He had his system and he stuck with it. You hear people talking about going to the Spread [offense], but the bottom line is winning football games.

"He's built a fabulous football program."

Beebe Coach John Shannon, an assistant at Cabot from 1995-2006, called Malham his coaching mentor.

"Being with Coach Malham was a great experience," Shannon said. "He taught me how to interact with kids. It's more than X's and O's. He was able to teach me the small things you don't even think about. He's the most detailed individual I've ever met in my life.

"He left no stone unturned."

Cabot finished 6-6 in 2017, losing to Bentonville in the Class 7A second round. Malham is confident about the Panthers for 2018, with senior running backs T.J. Rogers (1,200 yards) and Brad Morales (800 yards) returning.

"We've got a chance to make a challenge," said Malham, whose Panthers are in the 7A-Central Conference. "The kids are good. They're working hard. They're a dedicated group."

Malham is three victories away from 300 and would be the second coach to reach that total. Former Barton coach Frank McClellan is the state's all-time winningest coach with 367.

"It's a nice milestone, but it's not an end-all, be-all," Malham said.

While there have been noticeable changes in the game over the years, including more offenses going pass-first and the reduction of two-a-day practices, Malham has been proud of the Panthers' consistency in sticking with the Dead-T offense and the players who have come through the program.

"We haven't changed a lot," Malham said. "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

Register and Malham coached against each other quite a bit, with Register coaching at Little Rock Catholic and Little Rock Central. He said he and Malham talked about life after football several times, including spending more time with their grandchildren.

"He's in great health," Register said. "He can go out on his own terms. He can enjoy his family. I think that's important."

Sports on 06/21/2018