Eddie James leaves Franklin County for ‘dream’ job with storied Highlands football program
Eddie James, the Franklin County football coach who led the Flyers to their first appearance in a state championship this season, has been named the new head coach at Highlands, one of the state’s most storied programs.
“I’m pumped up and ready to go work and chip away and see what we can get done up in northern Kentucky,” James told the Herald-Leader after the hire was announced by Fort Thomas Independent Schools on Saturday afternoon.
In the press release, James said he would only leave Franklin County, his alma mater, for a job like Highlands, where the Bluebirds have claimed 23 state championships, most recently in 2014. That’s second only to Trinity among Kentucky high school programs.
But breaking the news to his Franklin County team on Saturday was difficult.
“It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal in my life,” James said. “It’s 2:15 (p.m.) and I’ve probably cried 15 or 20 times today, just having different conversations with people. This place means the world to me.
“But football is a game of life lessons. You have a big influence as a head coach, and we tell our kids all the time to chase their dreams and not just dream average. We want them to dream big. And I’m dreaming big. I want to go and chase this.”
Brian Weinrich stepped down as Highlands coach after a 5-6 season that saw the Bluebirds ousted from the playoffs by Covington Catholic in their district championship game. Weinrich was with the program for more than 20 years as assistant and head coach, leading the Bluebirds to its most recent state title and a state semis appearance in 2015. But the Bluebirds haven’t made it past the third round in the playoffs since. Meanwhile, heated district rival CovCath has made three Class 5A state finals appearances in the last four years with two championships.
“Highlands has a long and proud history of competing at the highest levels and Eddie brings with him the coaching acumen and experience needed to bring this kind of achievement back to our football program,” Highlands Athletics Director Wes Caldwell said in the press release. “Hiring Eddie represents a critical investment in our entire athletic department, and his energy will galvanize our community. We believe a lot of great Friday nights are in store for the Bluebirds.”
James doesn’t shy from the expectations or the rivalry.
“When you dream about being a football coach, that’s what you dream about,” James said. “You want a place that loves it, and we started getting some of them here in Frankfort, but you want to be part of that. You don’t show up to coach in games with running clocks. You coach to show up in rivalry games and state championship games and you work as hard as you can so you get there.”
James goes to Highlands after four years at the helm of Franklin County, where he took the Flyers to district and region titles in 2020 and pushed a Class 4A state title game into overtime before falling 31-28 to Boyle County at Kroger Field.
A 2005 Franklin County graduate, he had assistant coaching stints at Franklin County and Boyle County before taking the Flyers’ top job in 2017. He had a record of 35-12 that included only one loss in 2019 and just two losses in 2020. He took over a four-win team from the year before and quickly turned it around.
“It’s about developing the culture,” James said of his success. “I’m convinced there’s great kids everywhere. There are talented kids everywhere, but we really focused here on getting the culture right and developing this place and this program to be something special.”
The Flyers program graduates Fred Farrier, who was one of the state’s top wide receivers, and quarterback Nick Broyles, who also garnered college offers, but should return a number of playmakers, including two-way standout Zach Claudio and running back Kaden Moorman. Franklin County this past year upgraded its football stadium to artificial turf, vastly improving its facility.
“My mom always said, ‘If you’re going to do something, leave it better than you found it.’” James said. “And I think we’ve done that here. I think that whoever gets this job after me is primed for some real success. I’ve been blessed to be part of it, but there’s a lot of people here behind the scenes that worked very hard to get from 5-6 to the state runner-up.”
Moving on from Franklin County and saying goodbye to his program was made more emotional because his players and his staff “have given everything to this place. And I have no doubt they’ll continue to do that.”
“Leaving home is never easy. And I know our kids are flooded with emotions,” James said. “But I do believe in my heart that at the end of this, when I put my head on the pillow, I’ve given every ounce of myself to Franklin County, because it is home. And I believe in doing things the right way.”
