There really is no right or wrong answer here. Both Willis White and Stephen Magenbauer were absolutely first-rate high school football coaches, who exceeded initial expectations. I can’t see any clear choice between the two, when both performed about as well as they possibly could have, both surpassing all their contemporaries. It’s been an interesting discussion, but ultimately, in my view, one that is moot.
I will say this - it is possible that people of...ahem...a certain age could lean toward picking White for actual well-considered reasons, and not just because they’re pining for yesteryear. I think to say that is painting with waaay too broad a brush. I am not making that pick; I will not choose between the two. However, consider: it has always been more difficult to create than to maintain. And when it comes to football, White created the “Salem way.”
Many people may not know, or might have forgotten, the dire state Salem High football was in prior to White’s hiring in 1983. After a good inaugural season in ‘77 that saw Salem come one missed two-point conversion from the district title and a playoff berth, things went off the rails quickly. In 1980, the Spartans finished 2-8, and suffered six shutouts. That team did manage to score 41 points - for the entire season. 1981 saw Salem post it’s worst-ever record, at 1-9. The following year, the record swelled to 3-7. Such was the landscape when White was hired when Salem started its own school system. Eddie Joyce was still less than ten years removed from the head coaching job at Andrew Lewis, and I’m sure many around town still had vague thoughts of a glorious return to the Joyce halcyon days of the ‘60s. However, if I recall correctly, White’s new employers had a more immediate, concrete goal in mind: just beat the Roanoke County schools. Going into the ‘83 season, Salem had lost every meeting with both Cave Spring and Northside, for a combined record of 0-12. If White could just beat those guys, and maybe post a winning record, that would be a fine start.
Well, mission accomplished. Under White, Salem dominated nearly all local and district rivals, and went on to achieve state prominence. All while conducting himself as an old-school gentleman. And perhaps most importantly, White established how things would be done when it came to the Salem football program. Not just with his in-game philosophy of reliance on rock-solid defense, stressing offensive fundamentals, playing field position, and letting the other team make the fatal mistakes, although that was obviously crucial. But also by setting expectations for every big and little thing each player and coach would do. From the way players took the field for warmups, to how scouting reports were presented, things were now going to be done the Salem way.
That is why I could see people going through that hypothetical door to suit up for White. Prior to his arrival, none of those expectations, practices, or routines existed. That all had to be made from the ground up by someone , and much to Salem’s great fortune, Willis White was the right man at the right time. Remember the thread this summer about “your school’s Mt. Rushmore”? That is why I selected White over Magenbauer for Salem’s head coach representative. Not that I think White is necessarily the better coach. Fate just decreed that he should get there first.
So, if the city of Salem landed an absolute home run hire in Willis White, it defied the odds by repeating the feat with Magenbauer. Although all of the groundwork had been laid and the building done, there were tiny cracks. After making the playoffs for sixteen consecutive seasons under White, the Spartans stayed at home in both 2002 and 2003, the latter despite an 8-2 record. Unlike White, Magenbauer wasn’t faced with a massive rebuild from scratch. His directive was just to keep Salem where it was. Which I won’t pretend to be an easy thing. Especially, as someone above pointed out, with the conflicts that can arise from blending old and new staff. I’m sure there are many people Salem could have hired in the spring of 2004 that, for varying reasons, would have fallen flat on their faces, and run the program aground. No such worries with Magenbauer. Steve not only got the Spartans back to the playoffs - his teams won the whole darn ball of wax his first two years. And while it was obvious that the defenses of his teams were definitely not the defenses of his predecessor’s teams, it’s also become obvious over time that most of that was due to the way the game was changing.
Another poster stated earlier that most of the metrics would indicate that Magenbauer is the more successful coach. That’s true, but it’s also important to remember that those metrics don’t exist in a vacuum. To ask whether or not Magenbauer would have had the success he enjoyed had he not followed White is a valid question. However, I do agree that the Salem three-peat engineered by Magenbauer in 2015, 2016, and 2017 is the most impressive accomplishment in program history. For Salem to beat three previously undefeated teams, each talent-laden and essentially at full strength, on the biggest stage was simply astounding. Especially after the program had had a bit of a lull from ‘08 to ‘11. Although I don’t think there’s as enormous a gap between the latter-day opponents and the teams that White faced as some here do - and I still view Park View ‘99 as one of Salem’s top five alltime opponents - I do definitely agree that winning the state in 4A/Class 4 got substantially more difficult after 2013’s big reorganization. Magenbauer did it three consecutive years. One just can’t question that - at all.
Would Magenbauer, had he been in his thirties in 1983, have taken Salem’s program from the doldrums to delirium, as White did? Would White, had he been in his prime in the 2010s, have duplicated the three successive crowns of Magenbauer’s teams? We will never know. All I know is, both men are examples of the very best their profession has to offer, and - cliche as it sounds - Salem football fans were blessed to have them both.
