A familiar face will be roaming the sidelines when the Magnolia Heights Chiefs take the field in August for the 2022 football season.
The school recently announced the hiring of Russ Whiteside as head coach, replacing Cliff Young who stepped down after leading the program the last 34 seasons.
Whiteside, a 1993 graduate of Magnolia Heights School, previously served as defensive coordinator at Heritage Academy in Columbus since 2016. He helped guide the Patriots to MAIS State Championships in 2019 and 2021, and four consecutive district titles from 2018 through 2021.
Whiteside is excited about returning to his alma mater where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.
“It's great to be back. This school means a lot to our family. There is a lot of great football tradition at Magnolia Heights and hopefully we can continue to move this program in the right direction,” he said. “I know I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running with this group starting this summer.”
Despite it being his first football head coaching gig, Whiteside said the demands and expectations remain the same.
“I’ve been coaching football and basketball for 22 years so even though this is a new title for me, I don’t think the challenges will be much different than they are from year to year,” Whiteside explained. “We just have to get the kids to buy into what we want to do and have a tremendous work ethic.”
As head coach of the Heritage Academy varsity boys’ basketball team, Whiteside led the Patriots to AAA State Championships in 2018 and 2019 as well as the overall state championship in 2019.
He previously served as defensive coordinator and boys’ head basketball coach at Pillow Academy. Before that, Whiteside was an assistant for the junior high and varsity football teams and head boys’ basketball coach at Magnolia Heights from 2002 through 2013.
“Replacing a coach like Cliff Young won’t be easy,” Whiteside said. “I have a great amount of respect for Cliff. He is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever been around, and his teams have always been so well prepared. He is being inducted into the MAIS Hall of Fame for good reason. I’m grateful for the time I had coaching under him and for all he has done for Magnolia Heights.”
Whiteside and his wife Brittany are the parents of three children Lucy, Leighton, and Ellis.
