VIDALIA — Rebuilding a program from scratch isn’t foreign to new Vidalia High School head coach Jeff Hancock.

Hancock, who was announced as Vidalia’s seventh head coach in school history Wednesday, has more than 18 years of college coaching experience. He assisted in jumpstarting a new program in 2010 as assistant head coach at Siena Heights University in Michigan.

“I initially had to help do all of the research and run meetings to try and get everybody on board to start a program,” Hancock said.

Hancock plans on using that experience to try and generate excitement for a program that’s lost 35 out of the last 40 games its played.

“People want to be associated with a winner, and people want to see you put in the work to do so,” Hancock said. “I think I’m pretty knowledgeable on football, but it doesn’t matter what you know until you show everyone that you care. That goes for the kids and the community.”

It was Hancock’s work ethic that helped the coaching search committee choose Vidalia’s next coach.

The man in charge of making the hire, Vidalia principal Rick Brown, said it wasn’t an easy choice, but Hancock’s experience, maturity and work ethic sold him.

Once Brown found out Hancock’s motive to settle down and remain as Vidalia High’s head coach, Brown pulled the trigger.

“That’s one of the things that impressed me, his interest in a long-term commitment to us,” Brown said. “(The coaching search) lasted longer than I wanted it to be, but we wanted to make sure we got the right person.”

The Michigan native isn’t foreign to Vidalia either. Hancock married long-time former Vidalia assistant coach Tommy Lanius’ daughter, Leigh. Lanius, who assisted Dee Faircloth from 1972-2001, was more than ecstatic about the news.

“I’m happier than a kid with a new puppy,” Lanius said.

Opposite of Lanius, Hancock admits he’s more offensive-oriented than he is a defensive guy, and though Lanius is currently employed and is no longer an assistant coach, Hancock plans on having Lanius involved in some type of capacity.

“The fact that I’m an offensive guy and (Lanius) is a defensive guy, I think I’m the third favorite in-law to begin with,” Hancock said, laughing. “I’m going to try and get him to help, but I don’t know how successful I will be. I’ll take anything I can get from him. I want to get back anybody from the program to speak to the team. That’s how you’re going to get things fired up again.”

Along with assisting at Siena Heights, Hancock has served as an offensive coordinator at Adrian College in Michigan, University of Saint Mary in Kansas, Lane College in Tennessee and was the tight ends coach for the 2005 Division II national championship team Grand Valley State in Michigan. He also served as an offensive graduate assistant on the offensive line at Louisiana Tech in 2000.

Lanius said Hancock’s coaching experience gives him plenty to pull from at Vidalia.

“He’s coached up North, coached down South and coached out West,” Lanius said. “He’s kind of like what you call ‘gumbo.’ He’s got the ingredients from all over the country.”

Having served as an offensive coordinator at different colleges for 13 years, Hancock’s specialty is offense. He’s written six articles in magazines detailing how to properly run the spread and coach quarterbacks.

“I’m kind of a spread guy, but I run everything,” Hancock said. “If I have the personnel, I’d like to spread it out, and I do like to spread it out to run it and throw the ball vertically. However, just like small colleges, you have to have the personnel to do that. If we have tight end and fullback guys and we need to be powerful to run the football, that’s what we’ll do. We just have to see what we have to work with personnel-wise.”

Hancock likes to run a 4-3 on the defensive side of the ball.

Along with Lanius, Hancock reached out to former head coach Faircloth, who was recently inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame for his coaching career at Vidalia, to try and draw as much knowledge about the program.

“Anytime you have a hall of fame coach that’s been there as long as he has, it’s invaluable,” Hancock said. “To get where you want to go, you have to know where the program has been. He shared with me the positives and challenges that are ahead of me.”

One of those challenges will be getting the players up to speed with his offense, which he plans on doing as soon as he can. Hancock is scheduled to be in town for April 8 to meet with the team and coaches who helped last year and to instill his workouts. Until then, Hancock isn’t allowing distance to disrupt his plans of rebuilding. Hancock asked Brown for phone numbers of players and parents to try and make contact with, and he asked Brown to send him all 10 game tapes from last season.

“There are so many things that I need to get going,” Hancock said. “I’m going to try and do a lot here, but I need to get down there as soon as I can.”