When Mitch McDaniel accepted the head football coaching job at First Assembly Christian School ahead of the 2021 season, several warned him against it. You can’t win there, he was told. It’s a dead-end job.

The comments weren’t necessarily without merit either. Prior to his arrival, the Crusaders had had four straight losing seasons, bottoming out in a 2020 season that saw them lose all 10 of their games while scoring a grand total of three touchdowns.

Progress came slowly at first but FACS made a massive splash in 2023. McDaniel’s team finished 9-3, winning the program’s first playoff game in seven years before losing in the Division 2-A semifinals to eventual state champion Middle Tennessee Christian.

It was a nice bit of vindication for McDaniel — although this summer hasn’t given him much of a chance to pat himself on the back. He’s also FACS’ athletic director and in that role has spent a good amount of time evaluating candidates to fill several coaching openings the school had this offseason.

He approached it with the same fire and the same chip on his shoulder. It’s a mindset that should also serve his football Crusaders well, as they look to build on last year’s breakthrough.