Woodruff announced the hiring of former Byrnes offensive coordinator and Chapman quarterback Brett Sloan as its next football coach Tuesday.
"I'm unbelievably excited to get started, and they'll get my best every day, that's my biggest message to everyone around this program, they'll get my best every day," Sloan said at his introductory press conference.
"We interviewed a lot of great candidates, but our committee just felt like he brought a lot of things to the table, from his innovation on the offensive side of the ball, to his work with a youth leagues at Kell to his ties to the area, being a Chapman graduate," Woodruff athletic director Mike Morris said.
Sloan replaces Bradley Adams, who recently stepped down to return to his former role as football coach and athletic director at Georgetown. Adams went 33-22 in five seasons, including 6-6 in 2022.
Spartanburg County roots
"It's just home," Sloan said of why he's returned to Spartanburg County. "It's where my family is and that's really important to Brittany and me."
Sloan, 39, has spent the last eight seasons coaching in Georgia, most recently as the offensive coordinator at Collins Hill. The previous five seasons he was the head coach at Kell, with an overall record of 35-21.
But his coaching career started in Spartanburg County, spending three seasons at Byrnes as the wide receivers coach, co-offensive coordinator and then as the sole offensive coordinator. He also spent five seasons at his alma mater, Chapman, as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
Through his time in the Upstate, Sloan developed relationships with some of the area's best coaches and constantly leans on them for advice.
"Coach (Mark) Hodge is someone I talk to a lot ... Coach (Bobby) Bentley, I call a lot," he said. "There's a lot of people that I pick up the phone and give a shout to if I'm ever stuck on something or if I have a big decision."
His relationship with the Spartanburg High coach goes beyond a mentorship. He's literally family; Hodge is married to Sloan's cousin.
Process and patience
Year 1 for Sloan could be a rebuild, as Woodruff loses 24 seniors to graduation, including core pieces in quarterback Carson Tucker, receivers Anthony Graybill and Nehemiah Cochran, and defensive end/tight end Ty Ellis.
Yet the Woodruff faithful can expect one thing from day one under their new coach, "excellence on and off the field. That's my expectation and we have to figure out a way to get that done," Sloan said.
"The biggest way to do that are those three pillars that I talked about with the guys this morning, we're gonna play with relentless effort, that's non-negotiable. And we're going to have unbelievable accountability and trust in one another."
On offense, Sloan says he'll be calling plays for now. Traditionally, he runs a power spread offense, but is likely to adjust his scheme if his personnel is better fit for a different approach.
On defense, Sloan will need to address a void at the defensive coordinator position but hopes to employ an odd-front scheme that will be aggressive and physical, something he hopes to bring from his time in Georgia.
"Georgia plays a really physical brand of football with ... great defense, and I think that's something that I would really like to bring is just the physicality, the aggressive defensive style. That's something that I'd like to complement with what we do offensively. I think if we could do that, we have a chance to be pretty good," Sloan said.