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When Rodney Brewington's cell phone rings, it's rare he even hears "Hello" anymore.

"Coach," a voice on the other end will say, "are you at school?"

"I'll be there in a minute," Brewington will say, excusing himself from the dinner table in Winston-Salem and beginning the drive back to Smith, where he's often stayed until 10 or 11 p.m. with one of his players.

"People would ask, 'Coach, why are you there so late?' " Brewington said. "Because I know that if they're with me, they're not getting in trouble. Kids just need someone to talk to."

At its best, coaching is an extension of parenthood, sometimes even at the temporary expense of one's own family. Brewington held his own three sons out of football this year so he could spend more time with his team, which was saddled with a 32-game losing streak entering Brewington's second season.

"I don't want to say there was pressure, because I always felt my administration was behind me," Brewington said. "But this was one of those years you just can't miss. I couldn't come in and have a 2-9 season, or people would stop believing and start buying into the adage that you can't win at Smith."

Brewington knew what he was getting into when he took the job, but when half the players at his first tryout last summer were later declared ineligible, the scope of the turnaround became clear. He had gotten the job in part because of his plan for academic responsibility -- "nothing more than tutorials in the afternoons and making sure the kids were being held accountable on a daily basis," he said. This season, the eligibility problem all but vanished.

"You do those things first," Brewington said, "and the winning is always a byproduct."

The losing streak ended with a 42-0 thrashing of Atkins in the season opener, and it was a distant memory by the time Smith finished with five wins and its first playoff berth since 2004. A different energy had swept through the school, Brewington said, "and kids that are normally the knuckleheads are telling you, 'Good luck,' and, 'I'm going to be at the game,' and kids that are normally just not interested in sports are at least coming out and saying, 'I'm going to give it a try.'

"It was something I had to establish, a trust factor that I really want to be here," Brewington said. "I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere."