The next chapter of the Malden football program will be written by the same coach who has co-authored one of the most successful runs in school history.
For the first time in 13 seasons, Kevin Collier is moving back into an old role for the Green Wave.
It was confirmed in April that Malden's defensive coordinator for the last seven years will take over the vacant head coaching position left by former coach Joel Wyatt in late March after he accepted the same job in Kennett.
Though it came unexpectedly, the veteran coach jumped at the chance to take the reigns once more and provide some consistency for a group of players that is prepared to carry on the Green Wave legacy with a leader they know and trust.
"The entire time I've been here it has been a situation where I really liked being at Malden with the kids even when I wasn't the head coach," Collier said. "I never wanted to leave and I didn't anticipate coach Wyatt leaving, I hated that. But on the other hand, we're now able to keep as much continuity as possible and keep what he's done going."
Collier was the head coach for Malden from 2001-04 with a record of 16-24 during that stretch and has been part of its dominant Class 2 run the past few years. Prior to that, he led the Dexter Bearcats as head coach from 1996-99 and has a record of 34-46 as a head coach.
He's been officially on the job for just two months, but Collier is finding his "old" job quite comfortable, with slightly new responsibilities.
Following his hire, Collier held a meeting with his current players to assure them the small school machine that has churned out a 38-3 record in three seasons is still in good hands.
"As far as change, other than the head coaching duties, I'm still doing the same thing I was under coach Wyatt and I think that makes it easier on everybody," Collier said. "I wanted those kids, my players, to know that the great thing we've got going here is going to continue to be run the same way it has."
Fortunately for Collier, he has surrounded himself with coaches and players that know how this program works.
In his first move as head coach, Collier hired former Chaffee head coach Charlie Vickery, who Collier was an assistant for at Sikeston. When Vickery decided to resign after 16 seasons, 200 wins and 11 conference titles, Collier gave his old friend a call to join him once again as the offensive coordinator.
"He and I have been good friends forever and the timing was just right," Collier said. "We stayed in touch with each other all the time, talking football and so forth, and when he left Chaffee it turned out he still wanted to coach. We had this opportunity and it worked out well for both of us."
In total, Vickery's teams won four district titles, along with those 11 conference championships, and advanced to the state playoffs nine times. He was inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
Second-year assistant Justin Peden will help Vickery call Malden's new-look offense.
Collier will remain in charge on the other side of the ball, and for good reason.
As defensive coordinator, Collier's units have held opposing offenses to a staggering 20.03 points per game over the last seven seasons.
In 2014 alone Malden's defense only allowed 11.2 points per game. The following year they limited opponents to 21.5 points a game culminating the best season in history with a trip to the Class 2 state championship game.
"It's a whole packaged deal with us," Collier said. "You will have games where the offense is struggling, the defense has to pick it up and vice versa. I learned a long time ago that it needed to be consistent all across the board and when it became that we started finding success."
Perhaps the best thing about Collier's 4-3 defense over the last decade is the consistency they show each year. When the 2017 season begins in August, Collier will have seven returning starters including all four linemen on the defensive side of the ball.
The offense will look familiar too with two 1,100-yard rushers in Brown and running back Tray Stevenson. In total, 16 starters return for Malden.
"Having all those kids back made the transition a lot easier," Collier said. "Even though our offense is slightly changed, defensively it's the same thing and I think you'll see good things when those two units play off each other."
The thought of football in late June seems miles away, but with five weeks to go before the official start of fall practices, the Green Wave are in full preparation mode. They took part in the SEMO contact camp last weekend and continue the rigorous weight room repertoire that has lifted them past every conference opponent for the last three seasons.
Collier is mindful of the shoes he has to fill as he inherits a team from Wyatt that went 69-15. But he's also recognized the commitment and drive his predecessor had and exactly what it's going to take to keep the Green Wave rolling.
"I want to thank Coach Wyatt for the relentlessness of effort and the devotion to the game that he has. It made him a coach I could look up to and model myself after," Collier said. "The little things that some people might take for granted that Coach Wyatt did were very important and I recognized that every single day I had the chance to work with him."