Brey Cook to be presented for head ’Hawk football coach
Brey Cook was to be presented to the Pea Ridge School Board Monday night as the choice for head football coach for the Blackhawks replacing Jeff Williams, who resigned to become the new athletic director at Siloam Springs.
Cook, hired June 8, 2020, as the new offensive line coach for the Blackhawks, said he loves Pea Ridge and looks forward to building a culture of a family.
“I’ve really found a home here in Pea Ridge,” Cook said. “We at Pea Ridge truly are a family. No matter what these kids have going on in their lives, they know they have somebody in their corner … somewhere they can have a place to be themselves with people they can trust.
“That’s the foundation of our football,” he said.
Three finalists were chosen for the head football coaching vacancy and were interviewed a second time for the position, according to Tony Travis, school athletic and activities director. In addition to Cook, they were Greenwood offensive coordinator Zach Watson and former Russellville head coach Jeff Weaver.
Travis said the new coach was to be presented to the School Board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, April 12, after The TIMES’ press deadline.
“I think the biggest thing we were looking for, there are lots of things you look for when you’re hiring a head coach … all the guys we were talking to were obvious football guys … You’ve got to have
that in a head coach — strong character,” Travis said. “You want someone who will not only be involved in our program, but grow our program from Pee Wee all the way up. The biggest things we were looking for were a strong football mind, a strong character to be a good leader and role model for student athletes and the best fit for Pea Ridge with the staff, the team and the community.”
Travis, head Blackhawk football coach from 20092016, was coach at Rogers Heritage the last three seasons until 2019 when he was hired as the assistant principal of the Junior High School. He was appointed as the new athletic and activities director in May 2020.
Travis said, “One of the reasons I jumped at the chance to come back are the people who are at Pea Ridge. There are a lot of people at Pea Ridge who care about kids.
“It’s a good place to work because of the professionals you’re around every day,” he said explaining that even though he and other school officials researched the candidates for the position, the candidates also researched Pea Ridge.
“The vast majority talked about good people here and that they could come to work every day and enjoy the people they’re around. For me, that was a reason to come back,” he said. “That’s the feeling other people have about Pea Ridge.
“It’s just good people at Pea Ridge. You feel like every day is a good day to be a Blackhawk,” Travis said.
“I’m a young coach,” Cook said, “and I understand that it’s not a decision the School Board will take lightly.
“I cannot wait to meet those expectations — there’s a lot of energy, a lot of juice. The things I’ve been a part of in the game of football have helped me know how to build a culture,” he said.
“We have a very experienced coaching staff — guys who’ve been here a very long time, guys who are head coaches in baseball and track, who have a lot of experience. That’s another big reason I love it here. These guys really do care about these kids, their well being, their growth.”
He said the biggest responsibility of the head football coach is to put players and coaches in positions to be successful, to match staff members with what they’re good at and what needs to be done in the football program.
He said his experience in college, in coaching and recruiting for college, helped teach him to be able to communicate.
“One of the biggest things that’s important to me is working with the community. We’re hungry for local business opportunities,” he said. “When you break bread with the people you’re around, you build relationships.”
Cook, a native of Springdale, grew up on a family farm near his grandparents.
He was first involved in football in about fifth or sixth grade in a camp and said he enjoyed it and “never looked back.”
“I was a little bigger than the rest of the kids,” he said. At 6’6”, he’s varied in weight from about 270 pounds in junior high to 305 to 330 pounds during college.
“I had this height in high school,” he said, adding that he learned to lift weights and was coached to use his size well.
“You’re sitting on a gold mine and treating it like a tin mine,” Cook said his ninth-grade coach told him. He said he didn’t understand the analogy at first, but upon reflection, he realized he needed to focus.
“I had some abilities. I was always bigger than a lot of people, I might not have been as fast, but I enjoyed the weight room and had great strength coaches who taught me the value of putting in time in the weight room.”
Playing offensive lineman, Cook learned quickly that it was essential that each player depend on his teammates. “You can’t do this alone,” he said. “When a team works as a unit, then you find success.”
He said football teaches life lessons and recalls a ball game his senior year in high school when he “misheard” the call and ran the wrong play, resulting in a turn over from which the Razorbacks did not recover in that game.
“That was a big moment in my life,” he said, remembering how tough it was. “But, I bounced back.”
He said in the last game of that year, against Louisiana State University, the Razorbacks won 17-0 and the fans stormed the field. “That’s the last time the fans emptied the field. For me, that moment it clicked. If I hadn’t stuck with it … that last moment wouldn’t have happened. Those two moments coexist and it’s one of the big reasons I got into coaching,” he said. “This game has an impact on life.”
“This is a tough town, it’s full of people who are resilient — they’re very strong and everyone knows one another. That makes a difference,” Cook said. “When you have a football team that gets behind that and falls in love with the people and see that sense of community first hand.”
Cook earned his bachelor’s degree in communication and is three hours from completing his masters in recreation and sports management.
He teaches virtual English at Pea Ridge.
Among the coaches he credits with teaching him valuable lessons are Bret Bielema, Mike Norvell and Sam Pittman.
After graduating from Har Ber High School in 2011, Cook played football at the University of Arkansas. A four-year Razorback letterman, he was the 2014 team captain and on the academic honor roll twice.
Cook was a 2009 state champion at HarBer High School, 2010 Under Armour and Max Prep high school All American, according to Tony Travis, athletic director for Pea Ridge. Cook was the CA coach at the University of Arkansas 2016-2017 and Memphis University 2018-2019, 2019-2020 OL, run game coordinator and strength coach at Southwest Baptist University.
He signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins in 2015, but was medically retired during the pre-season.