Athletic Director Jerry Sharp, motivator of countless athletes and leader of many victorious football teams, has worked with young people for over three decades. Though his career accomplishments are many, he is most proud of helping his players grow in self-esteem and learn about life.
“When they succeed, then I feel successful—and I’m not referring to the playing field or court,” Sharp said. “Sports is an excellent way to learn about life. Participation in sports makes a difference in their future.”
In 32 years of coaching, Sharp has worked at only two schools, East Rome High School and Darlington. His career football coaching record is 205-90-8 losses, with seven region championships and three state championships. At Darlington, he has compiled a 92-53-1 record; at East Rome he finished at 113-37-7.
Sharp’s 1977 East Rome High squad was the first Georgia team to win all 15 games en route to the state championship, and he repeated the feat in 1978. His team went 39 straight games without a loss from 1977-79.
Over his career, Sharp, who has won state coach of the year several times, has had 14 teams play in the state play-offs, six of which were at Darlington. He was inducted into the Rome-Floyd County Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
As Darlington athletic director since 1985, Sharp’s teams have garnered 21 state championships in eight sports.
“Jerry is one of the true coaching greats in Georgia,” Headmaster David Rhodes said. “But what makes him special has nothing to do with his won-loss record but rather the way he loves and cares for his players. His teaching does not stop with football but transcends to life.”
Coaching is a mission for him. “I want to make it special for each student,” Sharp said. “I want them to be able to look back and say, ‘that was the best part of my life.’ I try to emphasize to my coaches that each student needs to know that he or she is special because each one really is.”
“I started coaching in order to give back to others what people did for me,” Sharp said. “So many people helped me along the way. Wally Wilkinson and Larry Muschamp were instrumental in my career, and I want to do the same.”
Wilkinson, who coached at Darlington early in his career, was head football coach at East Rome High School when Sharp was a student there. “Wilkinson showed an interest in me,” Sharp said. “He took me to Carson-Newman and helped me get a scholarship.”
Muschamp was assistant football coach at East Rome High School at that time, worked with Sharp as a player, and later, after Sharp graduated from college, gave him his first job.
Through the years, Sharp has built strong friendships with students and parents, and two generations of families have intertwined with him. Rick Sargent, whom he coached at East Rome High School and who later played professional football with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, is one of Sharp’s most avid supporters. His son Will ’97 also played football under Sharp and went on to play at Carson-Newman, Sharp’s alma mater.
Like Rick Sargent, Mike Carver and Russ Gates both played under Sharp at East Rome; Carver’s son, Danny ’92, competed under Sharp at Darlington, and Russ’s son, sophomore Andy Gates, currently plays on the Darlington squad.
Another Jerry Sharp supporter is Elbert Roberson, a booster club parent at East Rome High School who continued his interest and support of Sharp at Darlington, where his son Elbert Jr. ’89 played.
Sharp played football against players Wright Bagley ’63 and Ed Brewster ’61, and later coached Wright’s son, Trip ’91, and Ed’s sons Steve ’87, Mark ’89, and Craig ’92.
An especially loyal supporter of Sharp is Doyle Cowart, who had a son, Johnny, play for Sharp on East Rome’s state championship team. Cowart, a volunteer statistician at East Rome for nine years, followed Sharp to Darlington in 1986, where he has been doing stats ever since. His granddaughter, Katie Galloway, is a football cheerleader at Darlington.
Coaching is more than a job for Sharp—it’s a passion—and he believes in his work. According to his wife Nancy, who also works at Darlington as secretary to the academic dean, “Home and job are entwined. It’s a lifestyle.”
Jerry Sharp adds, “Nancy has taken ownership in this way of life, and she gets involved. She asks about individuals and knows their eligibility and is genuinely interested in them.”
The challenge of separating home and office makes unwinding difficult. The Sharps rejuvenate at their cabin at Lake Weiss. “I play golf and do a little fishing, but this job is always with me,” Jerry Sharp said. “I really shouldn’t admit this, but I have been known to think of plays during meetings and immediately doodle them on paper.”
