Vincent Newton named West Memphis head football coach

West Memphis has named Vincent Newton as the Blue Devils’ next head football coach.

Newton, who previously served as an assistant at West Memphis, has spent the last four years at Crossett, serving as head football coach since 2022.

The West Memphis School District announced the hire in the following press release:

Vincent Newton is a native of Crossett, AR where he most recently worked as the Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Crossett High School.

Upon graduating from UAPB in May of 2013, Newton was hired as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach at Stuttgart High School. After one year at Stuttgart High School, Newton coached football at Maumelle and Bryant Middle Schools.

During this two year stint, the football programs collectively compiled a record of 17-1.
Newton spent the 2016-17 school year as an assistant football coach at North Little Rock High School where he coached outside linebackers, helping the program finish with a 12-1 record, an undefeated 7A central conference title, and state runner up accolades.

In the spring of 2017, Newton accepted a position to coach football at West Memphis High School, where he held the duty of coaching defensive backs. During his first two seasons as a Blue Devil, the varsity program compiled 21 wins with an undefeated conference title and back to back semi-final playoff appearances. In this time frame, 15 young men signed athletic football scholarships to further their academic and athletic careers.

In the spring of 2019, Newton was promoted to Co-Defensive Coordinator with the responsibility of defensive passing game coordinator. During that season, offenses averaged less than 175 yards passing per game. The 2019 team finished the season as conference runner up and a third consecutive Class 6A semi-final appearance.

In the summer of 2020, Newton accepted a job with the Crossett School District to take on the responsibility of Defensive Coordinator. In that role, Crossett made consecutive class 4A quarter-final appearances. Crossett’s opponents averaged less than 20 points per game during this time; surrendering 17 points per game in 2021 (4th best points per game allowance in class 4A).

In the spring of 2022, Newton was promoted to Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Crossett High School. In a rebuild phase, Newton led the Crossett Eagles to consecutive first round playoff appearances in his two seasons as Head Coach. In 2023 as the offensive play caller, Crossett’s offense averaged 31 points per game.

Coach Newton returns to West Memphis with his wife and daughter.