Meet Cox Mill’s new football coach, who is living a dream he had as a kid in Charlotte
Growing up in Charlotte and playing at Waddell High School, DeShawn Baker always thought about what he’d like to do when he got older.
An all-star running back who would become a college Hall of Famer, Baker wanted to play in the NFL. And he wanted to be an agent.
And he wanted to be a head football coach.
Tuesday, one of Baker’s dreams came true. He was named head coach at Cox Mill High School in Cabarrus County, just across the Mecklenburg County line where he grew up.
“Yes, it has been one of my dreams for the longest,” Baker said. “But when I got back into coaching football, that was the main thing on my mind: To go out and be a great assistant coach; do what I can to help our head coach, you know, win ballgames and do what he needed me to do.”
Baker has been at Hough High School for the past five years as an assistant, most recently as the Huskies’ offensive coordinator. And now he’ll get to run his own show.
In high school, Baker played for the legendary Bennie McMurray, who spent much of his career in South Carolina and has won state championships in multiple sports. McMurray helped define Baker’s love of football — and sparked his desire to coach one day.
“Coach helped me so much in my childhood, going through things at home,” Baker said. “He was always a coach that I could look up to and talk to. And I always wanted to be one of those coaches, you know. ... To me, it’s bigger than football. It’s the relationships you build that can last a lifetime.”
After graduating from Waddell and leaving McMurray, Baker became a star a S.C. State and was with the Cleveland Browns during training camp before an injury ended his playing career.
Baker, who played in college from 2003-06, was inducted into the S.C. State Hall of Fame in 2016.
There, he left school as its second-leading all-time rusher (3,695 yards, 33 touchdowns) and was fifth all-time in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference history. He was the 2006 MEAC offensive player of the year.
At Cox Mill, Baker replaces Craig Stewart, who led the Chargers to their first conference title during the 2019 season. Stewart, the 2019 South Piedmont coach of the year, led Cox Mill to a 15-9 record in the past seasons. Stewart retired last summer.
Cox Mill principal Andrew Crook said after the N.C. High School Athletic Association pushed football from August to February, it gave the school time to search for the perfect candidate.
He and athletic director Phil Davanzo interviewed college and high school candidates from North Carolina to California.
“We spoke with many, many qualified candidates,” Crook said. “All of them were very accomplished. Our No. 1 priority was to find someone who truly cared about students and who would support them on and off the football field.”
When Davanzo was athletic director at Mallard Creek High School, he saw Baker work up close, coaching one of Mallard Creek’s biggest rivals.
“I was able to watch how he interacted with students, coaches and administration,” Davanzo said. “What was observed pushed him towards the top of a short list of special coaches, as he epitomizes what education-based athletics is all about.
“His focus is on building model citizens, model students and model athletes.”
Baker spoke to his new team for the first time Tuesday and promises an up-tempo offense, run from a spread formation, and aggressive defense.
“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Baker said. “I’m just ready to hit the ground running ... I’m very big on education. You’re going to find out that I’m really big on guys doing the right thing, being where they need to be at the right time, being respectful, being accountable, not just for your actions, but for your teammates’ actions as well.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 12:49 PM.
