Battle-tested Justin Bigham brings proven winning pedigree to Beebe
BEEBE – Football has taken Justin Bigham to a few different places in the Southeast region of the United States, but the next stop is his first in central Arkansas.
Bigham was approved by the Beebe School District as the program's next head football coach Monday evening following four years in the same position at Gentry, where he compiled a record of 23-21. He takes over for Chris Gunter, who resigned in November after going 17-33 in five seasons with the Badgers.
Born in West Helena, Bigham really had no choice but to be around football. His father, Greg, coached the game at Arkansas-based schools, including DeWitt, where Justin Bigham graduated in 2009, along with Marshall, and most recently Augusta.
Along with soaking in plenty of gridiron knowledge under his own roof, Bigham earned a chance to play for Ole Miss under fellow Arkansan, and former Razorbacks head coach from 1998-2007, Houston Nutt with the Rebels from 2009-11. Bigham also played under current Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, who was hired by the Rebels after Nutt was let go following the 2011 season.
"That is one thing I do not take for granted, being a coach's kid you have an upper hand whether you like it or not just because you're around it all of the time," Bigham said. "Just speaking the language and growing up in the locker room. My dad was fortunate to work under some really good guys, he was under Frank McClellan at Barton for a year. That in itself is huge being able to link back to him."
Though Nutt and Freeze had contrasting styles, Bigham took advantage and utilized it as a way to educate himself.
"Coach Nutt was the traditional I-Formation and gap scheme, power to the right and counter to the left," Bigham said. "That is how we did things, and I think there is a lot of value in that.
"The best way to describe the differences is under Coach Nutt we were going to use the full play clock, then the play would happen fast and it would be over. With Coach Freeze, we were going to go super fast, but the play might take a little longer to develop. Completely different mindsets, but I was able to learn under both of them to kind of steal some things and pick apart from each."
Following the conclusion of his playing career, Bigham went to coach under his father at Tallulah Academy in Louisiana. What came next shortly after he got there was far from what he envisioned.
"My mom took a job in Florida and my parents had to leave so I was the interim head coach," Bigham said. "As soon as that happened we went from 11-man to 8-man and I was just thinking that it was not what I signed up for.
"But it is still football ,and if you like offense then it is a lot of fun. There is a lot of grass and everything is a lot more open."
It all came together as Bigham led the Trojans to the state championship game that same year. He stepped away from the sidelines briefly and moved to Wisconsin to seek another career opportunity. The subzero winter temperatures, or perhaps more so the sting of being away from the game, very quickly forced him to re-think his decision.
"I would just think to myself that if I am missing football in February then I do not want to go a fall without it," Bigham said.
Bigham returned to Tallulah Academy for the following season as offensive coordinator due to the school hiring a head coach when he left. He returned to Arkansas and served stints as interim head coach at Mountain Home in 2017 and then worked for the Rogers School District in 2018-19 before landing his first head coaching job in Arkansas at Gentry prior to the 2020 season.
If Bigham thought getting thrust into a being a head coach in 8-man football was a challenge, COVID-19 presented a much tougher obstacle during his early tenure with the Pioneers.
"It was a struggle all the way through the interview process," said Bigham. "It was an in-person interview and I was not sure if that was even going to be a thing or not. The first time I met the kids we all have facemarks on and are spread out six feet apart. Plus, we were in the indoor where it was 1,000 degrees and they can't hear me with the fans going and a mask over my face.
"I do not think anyone is prepared for it until you just jump in and do it, so we just kind of hit the ground running."
The Pioneers reached the postseason each year under Bigham and drew Harding Academy, the eventual 4A state champions, in the first round last month. While the Wildcats took care of business, 49-12, Bigham made a very strong impression on Harding Academy head coach Neil Evans, who has won a state title with the Wildcats in four of the past five seasons.
"I told our coaches that Gentry was the best five-seed I have ever seen in my career," Evans said on a recent episode of the 'Coaches & The Mouth' podcast. "Coach Bigham, he is brilliant. On both sides of the ball he is sharp. He exploited every schematic weakness or misalignment that we had on either side of the ball."
The respect is mutual.
"That is very flattering," Bigham said of Evans' sentiments. "Coach Evans and I spoke before the game and he has a great reputation, obviously they know how to win. For him to say that means a lot, for sure, and I have been surrounded by a lot of great coaches."
As an up-and-coming coach who has already conquered his share of trials, Bigham now has his focus set on rebuilding a Beebe program that has struggled for some time. The Badgers have just one winning season to their credit since 2014, which was the last time they won a playoff game.
Beebe finished 4-6 and second to last place in the 5A-Central this season.
One primary reason Bigham decided to make the move is because he will be closer to family, many of whom reside in the Arkansas Delta. From a football standpoint, Bigham is convinced that the school has a burning desire to win and will provide the tools to do so.
"From the get-go of talking with (athletic director) Coach (Ryan) Marshall and (superintendent) Dr. (Chris) Nail, they have absolutely been nothing but first class and up front," Bigham said. "One of the most impressive things was in the interview they made no bones about it that they wanted to be better in three years.
"I want to be somewhere that strives to be better than what they currently are. They want to win and I feel like they are doing the things necessary to improve the program."
While the wins are expected to come, earning trust is the current point of emphasis.
"You have to coach kids really hard in the summer and in fall camp," Bigham said. "If you do not have a relationship with them that goes beyond football, that makes it really hard. I get the chance to go in and build relationships with the staff and kids before we really have to dive in and I think that is a big deal.
"We will improve and grow as fast as the support allows. Obviously you have got to have kids who can play, but I believe the pieces are there and it is our job to develop them to give them the best opportunities to win."
(Cover photo courtesy of CY Photography)
– Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
