Former East Coweta coach Danny Cronic returns to sidelines for The Heritage School

When Dr. Danny Cronic, the former head coach of the East Coweta Indians and a member of the Coweta Sports Hall of Fame, retired after the 2007 season, he knew that some day he would return to coaching.

“I didn’t know at what level I would coach at, but I always thought I’d get back into it,” Cronic said, adding that though he has spent some time on it his golf game isn’t getting better.
Cronic was approached by Otis Jones, a fellow member of his church and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Football Committee for the school, after the 2009 season.

“I thought it was a million to one shot, but the worst he could say was no,” Jones said. He started to talk to Cronic about the program hoping to spark an interest and they started to work something out.

Cronic will be an employee of the school, teaching a life skills class and supervising a PE and weight training class, but won’t have to teach a full class schedule.

For Cronic, the opportunity gets him back to what he loves and also allows him to continue to enjoy a large part of his retirement.

“I feel like coaching is a calling like the ministry,” Cronic said. “Coaches impart values and a work ethic and putting a team together is special. I’ve missed that.” Another bonus for Cronic, and his wife, is that he can get back into coaching without having to relocate.

Cronic met with players and parents last night and will start putting together a schedule for offseason activities soon.
Cronic has an overall coaching record of 219-107-1 and went 148-60 as head coach of the Indians. The Indians went to the state playoffs 16 times under Cronic and made the state semi-finals twice. He played on Vince Dooley’s first Bulldog team at the University of georgia, where he also got his Master’s degree and worked as a graduate assistant under Dooley.

He was a Special Services Officer in the U.S. Army, coached at Cherokee High School, LaGrange High School and Forsyth County High School, was a college coach at Middle Tennessee State University, served as offensive coordinator at West Georgia College and earned his doctorate at Middle Tennessee.

“There’s a lot of buzz in the air around here,” said Jones, adding that he and many others are excited for Cronic to bring his experience and knowledge to campus. “He knows how to build boys into men.”

Cronic inherits a program that has gone 6-4 and made the GISA state playoffs the last two years. Next season will be the school’s fifth football season in their history.