It was going to take a lot to pull John Carr from being the leader of Starkville’s football program. No college offer or other high school coaching gig could alter his dedication to being the main man pacing the sidelines of Yellow Jacket Stadium. Only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could pry him from wearing black and yellow – and on Wednesday Carr announced he got the offer of his dreams.
After spending just one season as the head coach of Starkville’s football program, Carr is making the leap to National Football League’s Cleveland Browns as the team’s chief of staff under newly named head coach Todd Monken.
“I was telling our players (Thursday), ‘When you start off playing football, we all have dreams, goals and aspirations and all that, and your dream doesn’t stop when you are 18 years old or 21,’” Carr said. ‘“Dreams and all those things continue on, and a dream of mine, and coaches in general probably, is trying to get to the pinnacle of the profession. To have an opportunity to go to the National Football League at 53 years old is just a dream come true.”
Carr, who came to Starkville from Clinton, led his squad to a 6-5 finish and ended his lone season with a 28-10 loss to Class 7A runner-up Tupelo.
With Carr at the helm, the Jackets showcased an explosive offense all season, which was put on display in his first-ever game as head coach – a 57-54 last-second win over Oak Grove in which the team set a new school record for offensive yards with 708.
“(It’s) a great opportunity, so we’re all happy for Coach Carr,” Starkville athletic director Jay Hopson said. “We appreciate all the hard work and dedication he put into our program. We are extremely proud of him and happy for his chance to get to the NFL.”
Now Carr gets the opportunity to link back up with an old friend in Monken. The two got to know each other very well when they both were on staff at Southern Mississippi from 2013-2015. Monken was the team’s head coach and Carr was the director of football operations.
Monken has long had a career that spans in both college football and the NFL. Most recently, Monken served as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens from 2023-2025 in which quarterback Lamar Jackson won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award in his first season on staff.
“I spent some time with him there for three years until he made the jump back to the NFL, and since then we’ve stayed in constant contact,” Carr said of Monken. “We’ve remained friends over the years, our wives are friends, and we’ve traveled together and kept in touch and our relationship has grown. For him to think enough of me to give me an opportunity to go with him into an NFL organization in the Cleveland Browns is just a dream come true.”
As the new chief of staff of the Browns, Carr said he will be tasked with spreading the message of the head coach throughout the entire organization.
“There’s a lot of things that as a head coach and play caller (Monken) has responsibilities to do, and I think from scheduling and for our staff, making sure that we’re all on the same page will be right there (in what I do) and share his voice with every aspect of the organization,” Carr explained. “From personnel, to scouting or whatever he needs me to do, I think it’s to make sure that his message gets spread the right way and we’re all on the same schedule. Then I’m sure there’s a lot of other things that go along with it that I’ll learn as I go.”
Though it was brief, Carr said he thoroughly enjoyed his time in Starkville and won’t soon forget what it was like to hear the roar from the stands inside Yellow Jacket Stadium. He said the school left a lasting impact on his life and that his successor is primed for success.
“From Day 1 when I stepped in, I knew we were walking into a great situation with our superintendent Dr. Tony McGee, I had a history with (athletic director) Jay Hopson, I knew he was going to be about football, and Dr. (Watress) Harris, our principal, that we were all aligned with all our extracurricular activities, not just football but athletics in general. You couldn’t ask for the administration to be any more supportive than those,” Carr said. “Of course the community was awesome, the players bought in from Day 1 and really that part of it made the transition really good and smooth. And, of course, we were having a great offseason, and so all the pieces of the puzzle are in place. It’s rolling good and I feel like it’s in a great spot. To me, there is no doubt about it, period – to me this is the best job in the state. It’s the best job in the state bar none.”
Now, the search is on for Starkville’s second football coach in two years.
“We’re looking for a coach who is highly motivated, just a bright football mind and a guy who definitely wants to develop young men,” Hopson said. “We’re looking for a guy who wants to compete for championships every year and we’re going to get a list together and we’ll start probably early next week getting things moving, and hopefully we’ll move fairly quick.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
