Arkadelphia’s Eldridge takes reins at NLR
ARKADELPHIA — One of the top coaches in the state starts a new job today as the new head football coach for the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats.
J.R. Eldridge, who led Arkadelphia to consecutive Class 4A state football championships in 2017 and 2018, resigned his position as the head coach of the Badgers and takes over at North Little Rock today.
The North Little Rock school board voted 6-1 in favor of hiring Eldridge Monday night during its monthly meeting, held via Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Charging Wildcats have played in the past four consecutive Class 7A state championships, defeating Bentonville in 2017 for the school’s first title since 1972.
“Obviously, they’ve been to the last four state championships in a row,” Eldridge said, noting that was one of the things that was attractive about the job. “Just the opportunity there and to be able to continue to try to accomplish the mission of making a difference in the lives of the players, making a difference in the lives of the coaches and then just continue to try to compete for and win conference and state championships.
“I think North Little Rock’s a great place to be able to do that. I look forward to getting to know people in the community. [They have a] great administration over there. I’ve gotten to know the superintendent throughout the interview process, the AD and some of the administration. So just looking forward to building new relationships and continuing to grow.”
A Fayetteville native, Eldridge has been a part of the Arkadelphia community since
1996, when he started his collegiate football career at Henderson State University. Finishing his degree and playing his final two years at Ouachita Baptist University, Eldridge then spent
10 years as an assistant coach for the Tigers before spending the last nine years at the helm of the Badgers’ program.
“It’s been a special time,” he
said. “I’ve been the head coach here for nine years. We’ve had a lot of great coaches to help build this thing, and a lot of great players that have have contributed to our program, whether they were on the ‘17 and ‘18 state championship teams or on any of the other teams. We’ve been to the quarterfinals six out of nine years, semis three out of nine years and won two state championships. A lot of really good coaches, a lot of really good players that have contributed to our success and being able to just constantly get better and better.”
Eldridge said that he does not know yet whether he will be bringing any of his staff with him to North Little Rock.
“My first priority is to fill out paperwork to be hired and working on that,” he said. “I’ll get in touch with the current coaches on staff and be able to interview them and talk to them … just trying to build a relationship with each of the coaches that are there already.”
Arkadelphia athletic director Donnie Williams said that a timeline had not been set as to the search for Eldridge’s replacement.
“We haven’t even opened it up,” he said, noting he would like to have someone in place by June. “We haven’t even put it out yet. … We’ll open it up as soon as possible. That’s all I can say right now. That would be a personnel decision right there. We’ve had a few people that showed interest when they heard about it, and I’ve had a few people who have emailed me that showed interest. They’re just waiting.”
Williams praised Eldridge for bringing football back into the limelight at Arkadelphia, leading the Badgers to back-to-back state titles.
“I feel like we’re losing a great football coach who is going on bigger and better things,” he said. “It’s gonna be hard to replace him. I’ve found him to be an honest, hard-working coach. He sets expectations high for himself and his players and his assistant coaches that work with him. He led by example. He wasn’t a follower. He led out front in everything that he did. He’s a great family man, always put God first in his life, so it’s gonna be hard to replace him. Arkadelphia’s gonna miss him. He kind of resurrected football in Arkadelphia.”
Arkadelphia’s last state title before 2017 was in 1987 under the late John Outlaw.
“He came in and rewrote the history book on Arkadelphia football,” Williams said. “For years it was ‘Outlaw, Outlaw, Outlaw.’ Now he’s gonna leave a legacy behind called the J.R. era. … It’ll be coach Eldridge that they’ll be talking about in the years to come and what he did at Arkadelphia.”
While he has not been face-toface with his players at Arkadelphia since he was hired at NLR, he has talked with them on GroupMe.
“I haven’t been able to talk to anybody really in-person except for players that I’ve called and players that have called me,” he explained. “But as far as on our GroupMe, they’ve reacted good. I mean, they’re excited for me. They understand. I think they also understand that it’s really tough for me to leave, too, just because I feel like I’ve invested so much in these classes that have played for me. But I haven’t really been able to communicate face-toface, and that’s been the tough part.”
Eldridge said that while he will miss the Badgers, he sees this as an opportunity to carry on the idea of VVR — Vicious, Violent, Relentless — to a new school where he will strive to make a difference in the lives of the players and coaches at North Little Rock.
“It has been cool to see that whole process from 2011 to right now in 2020 to see young men grow up and do things and try to be VVR in their lives,” he said. “Anywhere I go, I think that’s a part of my nature, and hopefully it’ll become a part of the culture that we build over at North Little Rock.”
Eldridge said that his wife Audrey will remain in Arkadelphia with his three sons — Jack, 13, Max, 11, and Tripp, 5 — as they finish out the school year.
“My wife and kids, they’ll stay here to the end school. We’ll work on making moves to get everybody to North Little Rock as soon as we can.”