Bryon Marshall Hired as New Varsity Football Head Coach

Over the weekend, Blake announced that Bryon Marshall, Blake’s College and Career Coordinator and former JV Football Coach, will be replacing DeShawn Anderson as the head of Varsity Football.

“It’s still a surreal feeling,” Mr. Marshall says. “It’s [been] a dream of mine since I started coaching back in 2009 to be a Varsity Head Football Coach.”

Earlier this past December, Mr. Anderson, who had led Varsity Football for seven years, announced he was stepping down to focus more on his family. When selecting a new coach, Athletic Director Jared Fribush implied there would be a very lengthy, thorough hiring process. This time, though, Blake seemed to stay close to home.

“I was actually in the hallway right in front of Coach Anderson’s room when Mr. Fribush called me to offer me the position,” Mr. Marshall recalls. “Once the news was posted on social media, around lunch time is when the community found out.”

Coach Marshall’s experience and popularity showed, as the announcement of his promotion was warmly welcomed by the Blake community. But, his closeness to the action didn’t make him feel like he had the position on lockdown.

“I was informed just before winter break that I would have an interview for the position. I was hoping I would get to interview and be selected but I wasn’t sure,” he explains. “Most times these jobs have so many applications and quality candidates to choose from.”

Coach Marshall is not new to leadership roles. He had been the head of the JV Football program since 2017 and was recently hired to take on the dedicated position of College and Career Coordinator.

On handling both responsibilities, he says, “Organization and balance is key. And also hiring good assistant coaches that I can delegate responsibilities to also make the jobs easier to balance… I have already started interviewing assistant coaches. That is my first task: to get good coaches who care about the kids.”

As many know, Mr. Anderson was a beloved member of the Blake football community. On his predecessor, Coach Marshall says, “Coach Anderson laid an excellent foundation that I will look to build on and expand. I would say my biggest change will be in the community and trying to make sure that our program supports our community in a variety of ways.”

Varsity Football looks to kick off its off season prep on Feb. 2!