Middleton gets win

Escambia County High School graduate Ron Middleton was named the interim head coach of the New York Jets this past weekend after head coach Robert Saleh was out due to COVID-19. The former Blue Devil football star from Atmore led the Jets to a 26-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars giving Middleton a 1-0 record as a head coach in the NFL.

Melvin Middleton, who helped coach Ron Middleton in junior high school and high school in Atmore, said he knew Ron would be successful in whatever he did. He also takes blame for derailing Ron's dream of becoming a rock star.

Melvin said he was an assistant football coach at Escambia County Middle School when Ron was in the seventh and eighth grades and moved with him as an assistant coach at Escambia County High School, where Ron graduated in 1982.

"He was in the band in the seventh and eighth grade," Melvin said of Ron. "I was on the way to work one day about 6 a.m. and saw him toting a horn. He said he was headed to band practice and I told him we had football practice."

"He told me I probably cost him money because he wanted to be a rock star," Melvin recalled.

While Ron never did gave up his love of music, he stuck with football and graduated from high school at the age of 16.

Melvin said he and Ron have stayed in touch over the years and the two exchanged text messages last Friday. The two chatted after the Ron-led Jets defeated Jacksonville on Dec. 26.

"He was real excited after the win," Melvin said. "It shows his determination in staying there and sticking to it. He's very smart and has a great perspective on life."

Buck Powell was the head football coach at Escambia County High School during Ron's years as a player and said he's not surprised at his success.

"He was just a good guy," Powell said. "He was easy to coach and would do anything you asked him to do."

Powell said he recalls a time when the Blue Devils' center got injured and he put Middleton in as the center.

"He'd never played center before," Powell said. "I don't think he'd ever practiced at center. He went in and did a good job. He could play anywhere on the field."

Powell said Middleton was one of the best players he'd ever coached because he paid attention and wanted to learn and get better.

"I'm proud for him," Powell said. "He deserves all the praise because he put the work into it and wanted to be the best he could be."

Powell did agree with Melvin Middleton that the best coaching job they did was getting Ron to put down the horn long enough to come play football.

Ron was coaching tight ends when Coach Saleh selected him to lead the team on Sunday.

Dennis Fuqua, former principal at Escambia County High School, said the trophy case at the school includes two engraved gold-colored footballs honoring Ron Middleton and Don McNeal, two former Atmore graduates who played in Super Bowls.

Ron was playing with the Washington Redskins when they defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24 on Jan. 26, 1992, in Super Bowl XXVI.

Middleton played college football at Auburn and was not drafted after his senior year, but went on to have a 10-year playing career in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers and the Redskins.

Middleton began his coaching career at Troy in 1997, then moved to Ole Miss from 1999 to 2003. He was the tight ends coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004 to 2006 and coached tight ends at the University of Alabama in 2007.

He then served as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Duke from 2008 to 2012. He joined the Jacksonville Jaguars staff as a tight ends' coach in 2013 and was hired as the tight ends' coach for the Jets in 2021.