Polk County football tabs former Arkansas, SMU assistant Dustin Fry as head coach
It’s never easy replacing a coach who has accounted for 63% of a football program’s victory total.
But Dustin Fry will attempt to do just that at Polk County High School – and has the resume to do it.
The Polk County Board of Education promoted Fry to be the program's sixth head coach on Feb. 13. He replaces Bruce Ollis, who retired in mid-Novemeber. He was an assistant coach with the Wolverines in 2022.
“It’s a great opportunity to inherit a program that’s had a lot of success the last 20 years under Coach Ollis and Coach (Jamie) Thompson,” Fry said. “So just really trying to keep that going and bring some new aspects of some things I’ve learned the last 10 years in college football.”
He spent eight seasons coaching Division I football at Clemson, Southern Methodist and Arkansas. He served as a player development coach and offensive line graduate assistant with the Tigers before becoming an offensive line coach with the Mustangs and Razorbacks.
Before that, Fry was a starter at Clemson, a fifth-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2007 and played in the NFL for four seasons.
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Fry and his family moved to Polk County in October 2020 to find the best school system for his son, Hudson, who is on the autism spectrum. He then became the offensive and defensive line coach at Polk County last season.
He knows his new task won’t be easy. But he’s thankful to have coached a season alongside his predecessor. The program was a well-oiled machine under Ollis, but change – even to minor things like warmups and practices – is coming, too.
“I think change is good,” Fry said. “Just as a shock to the system for the kids.”
“But they know me,” Fry later said. “They understand that I’m here. I’m here for them. I’m here to get better. We’re gonna work hard. I’m gonna hold them accountable.”
His resume also gives him an edge.
“I’ve lived that already, and I understand what they’re going through day in and day out,” Fry said. “So just to be able to relate to the kids. It wasn’t that long ago that I was going through it.”
Fry will have to replace some talented seniors from last season's 5-6 team, like quarterback and linebacker Casey Beiler and running back and linebacker Angus Weaver. But he returns wide receiver and outside linebacker Antonio Simpson.
“I’m excited to be a part of this area, this community,” Fry said. “Hopefully, we can thrive and be here a while…. Hopefully, we can have continued success and just keep what coach Ollis had going and keeping that alive.”
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Former Clemson, Arkansas coach Dustin Fry now at Polk County HS in NC
