Caden Plummer/Student Correspondent
Roman Harrison/Student Correspondent
Darren Kinnard
Section618.com
MT. VERNON — “We will win, there is no other option. We will win because that’s what I do.”
This mantra served as a resounding theme throughout new Mount Vernon head football coach Dan Mings’ speech to students interested in playing football next fall. A total of 96 freshmen to juniors attended Wednesday’s meeting.
This will be Mings’ second tour as the Rams’ head football coach. He previously coached at Mt. Vernon from 2001-2010. In those ten seasons, Mings led the Rams to the playoffs six times, including the 2005 team that finished with the best record in school history: 9-0 in the regular season and 2-1 in the playoffs for a final record of 11-1.
In the 11 seasons since Mings left, the Rams are 17-81 with one playoff appearance, that in 2013. The program has experienced a carousel of head coaches, including four different ones in the past seven seasons, with the teams winning only six games in that time.
Mings, who was named the new head coach at the Board of Education meeting January 18, told the prospective players that he felt Mount Vernon was a special place. “The pride in the community, the pride in the school, the pride that the kids have, Mount Vernon is a different place,” Mings said.
Since leaving, Mings has served as the head coach at Johnston City and as an assistant coach for Herrin and Massac County. He now steps back into the head coaching position at Mount Vernon after the resignation of Greg Graves.
Known as a motivator, Mings delivered a dynamic speech, full of emotion and vigor. Mings seemed thoroughly impressed with the turnout of interested students. He mentioned the number in attendance multiple times throughout his speech, even saying at one point that he had two speeches written, a “Yes speech” (happy with the numbers) and a “No speech” (displeased with the numbers), and obviously was able to use the “Yes speech”.
Mings closed by speaking about how he hopes to breathe new life into the program, saying he is not simply trying to win a few games; he is trying to rebuild a successful program that is a Southern Illinois powerhouse, even going as far to call Mt. Vernon the “sleeping giant.”
Mings said he looks forward to bringing back a winning culture to Mount Vernon. “Winning is very important to me. It drives me.” That passion and drive was well received by the players in attendance. Junior Fischer Davis said, “You can tell he’s passionate about it. He wants to build a culture.” Davis added, “He has a legacy of winning, and I hope he is able to continue growing that legacy here in Mount Vernon.”
Rams’ fans agree.