Coach Johnny Roscoe steps down as the head football coach of the Northern Guilford Nighthawks

Northern Guilford High School has announced that head football coach Johnny Roscoe has stepped down and his retirement will take effect on February 1.

Coach Roscoe has been the head football coach of the Nighthawks program since the beginning/inception of the school and he led the Nighthawks to three straight NCHSAA 3-AA Football Titles…

Coach Roscoe made the announcement to his team yesterday and his plans are to leave the school effective February 1 and retire to his farm down in South Carolina…Coach Roscoe also won three State Titles as a head football coach in South Carolina….

Applications are now being taken for the head football coaching job at Northern Guilford and they plan/hope to have the new football coach in place, by the middle of February…

Coach John Roscoe graduated from Guilford College and he is a former Quaker wide receiver…After many years in football, as February 1, Coach Roscoe will in some ways, hang up his cleats, put on his boots and hit the farm chores…Lots of good memories for him out on Spencer-Dixon Road and with those Three State Championship Banners hanging atop the press box at Northern, you have to think that one day, the future Nighthawks will be playing in ‘Johnny Roscoe Stadium’…..

The future of the program will be in goods hands with starting quarterback Austin Coltrane returning, C.J. Freeman, a very fast runningback is up from the JV’s, and there are quite a few Nighthawks that will be back next year and they all have big game experience in TJ Ruff, Chris Ripberger, Robert Wilcox, Jamon Reynolds, Mason Monroe, Max Klietsch, Cam Harris, Matt McGarry and others plus several key freshmen including one to watch in Tristan Simmons..Knew some of Simmons’ relatives back in the day,(the Tuckers) and they were a tough bunch, from somewhere out off of Bunch Road, near Pleasant Ridge Road…

Could see a new coach from the outside or a coach from within the current staff of assistants take over and with the names that I have mentioned from above, that will make for a very good starting point for the new coach and any coach around would look forward to working with that group…

Best of luck down the road to Coach Roscoe and his wife Jane and as any coach that’s been in the business will tell you, “you put on the shoes/boots every day and we all go into battle together the same way every day”…Working with kids, working in and around the schools, is a battle every day you go out there and it is a tribute to those that have fought that good fight for so many years and Coach Roscoe has been at it for at least 40-plus years and that adds up to be not only a battle, he and others like him, Coach Pursley from NEG among them that also stepped down this year after many years of service, those men have not only been in a battle, they have been in a war and they have helped many young people along the way….

To the new coach, you have seen that list of players that you will have to work with and again to Coach Roscoe and his wife Jane, because they were and are a team, best of luck to you as you head to South Carolina…..

Thanks to the Northern Guilford administration and athletic staff(Principal Will Laine and Athletic Director Brian Thomas) for providing us with this retirement/information release…The key details from NG and the so-called insight, from Andy Durham at GreensboroSports.com….

*****Any comments you leave must be related to the subject matter and if not they will be deleted and that’s Andy’s call there..Love to have them, love to leave them, but they have to be moving in the right direction and I will be here to set that direction…(Got to put the boots on.)*****

19 thoughts on “Coach Johnny Roscoe steps down as the head football coach of the Northern Guilford Nighthawks

  1. I find it kinda funny that he retires after TJ Logan leaves, the team at best will be average next year.

  2. Congrats to Coach Roscoe on a fine career at the helm at NW G, and mentoring many student athletes. That is something to be proud of and I do wish you well in your retirement. Living on the Northwest side, I do find it strange, that you do retire now, and echo what “Mike” just commented about…I do not want to take away anything from your retirement or what you have accomplished, but I too, find it strange, that going into the upcoming fall 2013 season, when Northwest Guilford is loaded with talent and Seniors, that you now retire…hummmmmmmmm….??????

  3. Good luck to Northern in their search….hope for them they find a good, quality candidate the likes of Doug Robertson at Eastern and not an unqualified, unknown like Northeast just found

  4. Congrats to Coach Roscoe and his fine season that he put up at Northern Guilford! You will be missed at Nighthawk Nation and hope the best for you and your wife! And also congrats on never letting NorthWest Guilford beat the Nighthawks in the time that you have been Coach! Thanks Coach! (NorthWest keep your comments too yourself, we’ll deal with ya’ll next season!)

  5. Everyone that knows Coach Roscoe should have known he was only in NC for at least 5 years to Double Dip. That was from day one. Do you think he thought he would win 2 state titles when he took the job? He was never going to make a career in NC.

  6. You can say whatever you want about Coach Roscoe, but that man can coach football. His offense and defense lines were always undersized, but they were fundamentally sound. Throughout the playoffs, they went up against the best running backs in the state and they shut them down. In my very limited interaction with Coach Roscoe and his wife, they were extremely nice people. If you haven’t noticed, he appears to be at normal retirement age. Good luck in your retirement.

  7. It does not matter what the talent is currently nor does Northern carry about NW since they are 4A. This coach has given Northern a legacy that is unmatched in this city except by the run Page had back in the 90s. He is leaving on top and that is the way he should be remembered. Look folks – he was able to do the exact same thing in SC. He is a proven coach that can ride off into the sunset on his own terms. Enjoy the ranch Coach !

  8. Coach Roscoe helped a lot of kids from Northern Guilford and I’m sure the kids, moms and dads, families and friends would tell or say to the coach, thanks for the ride, to them it was a great one…

    In the beginning I think Coach Roscoe took the job to help out an old friend and I’ve seen circumstance lead to Triple-Dipping in some cases with a former coach being the AD, plus filling in as teacher part-time and also teaching at another school full-time…Sometimes it is just part of the game…

    That coaching is a passion that is hard to quench….Being around sports is a lifetime for some….

    Coach Roscoe is going to be able to get away and now relax for a few years…Enjoy the ride and as the poster said above, enjoy life down on the farm/ranch…..

  9. He’s an ok coach, yea he won three states titles, but the talent was alway there. I think any coach in guilford county would win 3 state titles if they had that talent and was in the 3A. TJ Logan made Northern what is was, most of the time TJ was turning a busted play into a touchdown. They played in a weak 3A division. lets see how Northern would be in the 4A.But wish him nothing but the best. Enjoy retirement.

  10. Dang, you’d think after three state championships in a row northern would have finally proved itself to the community. I’m not exactly a nighthawk fan but I’m not sure what else the coaches and players over at northern can do to show y’all that they’re a good team. Congrats to roscoe on his long and successful career. I’ve got hope that this wont be the last we hear from the nighthawks

  11. Generally, a successful coach with as many titles as Coach Roscoe has won will leave a program because A)he’s gotten a job offer he can’t refuse or B) he is departing before the Pete Carroll rule takes effect.

  12. Maybe just a little bit too analytical…

    Sometimes it is time for a coach to move on and take it easy and enjoy some retirement…

    Forty-plus years in the profession would seem like enough/plenty and a good time to get away while you still have time to enjoy the retirement…

    Well-deserved retirement…

    And we’ll leave the Pete Carroll rule as the Pete Carroll rule…

  13. Andy,
    Thanks for trying to help others with a bit of perspective. But “analytical”? I would have gone with delusional, jealous and/or others.

    Thanks Coach Roscoe & Jane for all you did for the Northern kids & community. You’ll be missed.

  14. Always trying to keep things above board so we can stay on board and making a few adjustments as we go along so we can all stay on board this ride together, at least until I have to leave out of here at 4 for the GDS-HPCA game..

  15. Wow a lot of haters.

    What’s wrong with going out on top after 40+ years? Should he stay until has only goes .500?

    Yes he ran up the score but you have to win in order to be able to do that.

    He had a talented roster. Is he supposed to feel guilty about that?

    Talent still needs leadership to win championships. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles.

  16. Coach Roscoe set Northern up with a rock solid foundation to the start up to their football program,hard to imagine anybody doing a better job starting a team from scratch and building it into a powerhouse like he did.Hope you guys hire from within for your next coach.

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