Vandy-Q: Dublin assistant coach smoking meats, tackling tastebuds in long-running offseason pastime

Dublin Irish defenses over the years have carried “hit ’em in the mouth” as their unofficial motto. 

Irish assistant coach Don Vandygriff aims to do the same with his barbecue… of course, not in the literal sense that the Andy Griffith Show’s Otis Campbell took it with a leg of lamb… rather with some in-your-face flavor he’s perfected over years working at the craft. 

When not helping his players smoke the man with the ball on the other side of the line of scrimmage, the seasoned coaching veteran enjoys a hobby of smoking meats in his spare time. 

That interest, since it began during a prior stint in Dublin almost 15 years ago, has turned into a side business that “Coach Vandy” has carried with him to multiple coaching stops around the state, his latest back at the place that’s been home for a good chunk of his high school coaching career. 

And he takes as much pride in the brand – Knew Rope Barbecue – and its product as he does the play of his position groups on the field. 

“The biggest thing is being consistent and providing good flavors to make people happy,” Vandygriff said. “I do it the same way every time so when someone comes to get Knew Rope Barbecue, it’s going to be consistent, kind of like the Dublin Irish. We’re going to put forth that work every day, and we’re going to be consistent every day, no matter what day it is or who the opponent is.” 

On the average day of cooking, you’ll typically find him posted up, with smoker going strong, under a roadside tent in Ailey, which he’s continued to call home since moving back to Middle Georgia in 2022 to become head coach at Montgomery County. 

After a couple years leading the Eagles, he rejoined Roger Holmes and the Irish last fall, and is now gearing up for a second season training up their ends (not burnt ones, mind you… it’s the quarterbacks they’re chasing that tend to wind up on the crispy side). 

With rare exceptions, it’s generally Saturdays during the spring and summer when Vandy is able to dust off the smoker to turn out a batch of meat for customers – via both pre-order and walk-ups – that he keeps posted on his schedule via social media. 

Due to coaching commitments, the “hit or miss” nature of that tends to make it tough to build a widespread following. But those who have become familiar with his barbecue are faithful fans. 

“It’s insanely good,” said fellow Dublin assistant coach Joel Ingram. “His rib tips and burnt ends are ridiculous!!” 

The venture, which he’s formalized as an LLC, was born way back in 2012. 

Coach had, for years, dabbled in grilling and smoking on a backyard basis. He began to get into it a lot deeper around the time he first tried his hand at competing in that year’s St. Patrick’s Pig in the Park competition. 

“I took second in ribs, and it kind of all ventured from there,” Vandy said. “I started taking it a little more seriously, entered a few competitions and did pretty well.” 

What’s the meaning behind the name? 

Somewhere, at some point in time, Vandy remembers hearing the expression “Strong as new rope” thrown around by a coaching colleague, and decided to adopt the term with a slightly altered spelling to represent – in a nutshell – consistent, reliable flavor. 

“When you have a piece of rope and you pull on it, it’s pretty strong,” he said. 

Vandy still makes an occasional foray onto the competitive circuit, but these days, the focus is primarily catering and community sales anytime he’s able to do some cooking during the offseason. 

“I really don’t have the time for competitions as much anymore,” he said. 

Football season, which ties him up pretty much round-the-clock, makes the fall months a no-go for doing much of anything outside the coaching grind, which now continues through the winter since he began assisting Irish head wrestling coach Ben Lanier on the mat last season. 

“We pretty much shut down in the middle of July, and start to amp that football season up,” he said. “March, to about now, I’m pretty good at cooking on the weekends and things of that nature.

“It’s whenever I get a little rest time. I try to do it at least three to four times per year.” 

For someone used to the fast-paced and relentless work of coaching high school sports, some “low and slow” on a weekend is the perfect way to unwind a little bit. 

“It’s very relaxing to me to be able to just cook the meat at a slow temperature, take the time to do it,” Vandy said. 

His typical day starts at 5 a.m., and usually won’t finish up till late in the evening as the last of customers make their way through to pick up orders. 

Though he gets a hand at competitions from son-in-law Tyler Johns, Vandy is mostly a one-man outfit on these run-of-the-mill weekends. 

Ribs – by far – are his biggest sellers, though he also keeps chicken and pork butts in the regular starting lineup. Brisket, turkey and other meats are also part of the rotation, either by request or on special occasions like major holidays. 

But his baby-backs are easily the signature item, whose early popularity with customers kind of got the whole thing going when he first started. 

“Everybody who was eating the ribs, they said, ‘Them are good,'” Vandy recalls. “It’s a unique flavor in the sense that it’s a sweet, tangy rib, with or without sauce. I prefer to lightly sauce, and let ’em rest and be served 45-50 minutes after you pull them to let that meat get back on the bone a little bit. It’s really savory to the tongue, and could be explained as more of a sweet than a heat.” 

Like many in the barbecue business, he follows and borrows techniques from experts on social media, while also picking the brains of colleagues in the business from around the area. 

But Vandy is mostly self-taught in the trade, with knowledge that’s come from a lot of trial-and-error, and customer feedback. 

He’s developed his own signature rub, featuring 14 spices, and an original sauce. 

The seasoning hews closely to tradition among pitmasters in this part of the country, who generally like a good mix of sweet, and heat. 

“Georgia barbecue’s a little different,” he said. “A lot of people do a little bit heavier on spice, the cayenne and deep brown sugars, and that sort of thing. That’s where my rub comes from, a couple of secret spices.” 

Though it’s a preference more than an ironclad rule, pecan wood is also his fuel of choice in the smoker. 

The discipline and detail involved in the process mirrors that which is the standard for both coaches and players inside the Shamrock Bowl fieldhouse, not only in the fall, but year-round. And he’s quick to acknowledge that a lot of what makes up Dublin’s winning tradition over the years has – pardon the pun – rubbed off on his craft. 

“The work ethic that I put through football has definitely led onto the work ethic that I’ve put into my barbecue,” he said. 

He’s not the only master of ‘que around the program, whose head coach and several other staffers are also known to be pretty handy with the grill and smoker, and can hold their own with a brisket or rack of ribs. 

“They tend to have little miniature office competitions every now and then, when somebody’ll bring in something to taste,” Vandy said. “But all in all, it’s all in good fun. We’re just trying to put something good on the table for our families.” 

It’s a fitting pastime, given how much this line of cooking and the sport of football have in common… with excellence in both demanding scrupulous methods, faithful technique and a willingness to put in the time it takes to get things exactly right. 

A few secret recipes, and some savvy when it comes to tricks of the trade, don’t hurt either.  

“He’s really good at it, and he loves it,” said West Laurens assistant coach Brandon Edmond, who has played and coached under Vandy in the past, and picked up a little cooking knowledge to go along with all that he’s shared from his trove of football experience. 

The two, back during Edmond’s playing days at Dublin, actually shared a unique all-night experience smoking over a hundred Boston butts in front of the Shamrock Bowl, likely for some type of fundraiser, that sticks out in his memory. 

“We had several smokers out there rolling at one time,” Edmond said. “It was a crazy night. I forgot what it was for, but it was super cool to do it with him. He’s like my coaching dad. He has played a huge role in my life.” 

The upcoming school year will be Vandygriff’s 28th coaching high school ball, though he’s been in the business for a total of about 33, counting some early work at the collegiate level as a graduate assistant at Union Commonwealth University (his alma mater) and Eastern Kentucky, then his first full-time coaching position at West Virginia’s Concord University. 

The defensive guru originally broke in with Dublin as a coordinator in 2005, after making his high school coaching debut over a couple seasons back in his home state of Florida. 

Vandy’s early run with the Irish, interrupted by a one-year sojourn as head coach at Stockbridge in 2008, covered six seasons that, defensively, remain among the best of the Holmes era. 

That would be followed by some rounds in South Georgia (between  posts at Thomasville and Crisp County) and a trek north toward the Athens area (as DC at Cedar Shoals High School) before he made his way back to the midstate to accept the MoCo job three years ago. 

The different positions and locations have been somewhat numerous, although most of them were tied to the same handful of head coaches – Dublin’s in particular – with whom he’s built a deep sense of trust. 

“I’ve been fortunate to be able to coach under such a legend as Roger Holmes,” Vandy said. “His proof is in the pudding.” 

Their longtime relationship, as well as the culture of the school and program, had a lot to do with his return for a third go-round in Green and Gold. 

“I couldn’t say more about the system in general, and how they approach things in a professional way,” Vandy said. “They approach things the right way, it’s all about the kids and what it takes to be successful, not only on the football field, but the hardcourt, baseball and softball diamond, the soccer field and in the classroom, and they’re gonna do whatever it takes to make those kids successful not only in their extracurriculars, but in their schoolwork as well, and that means a lot to me.” 

His 11 years away hardly seemed like much time at all last year upon jumping back into Dublin’s way of football life, and a dang near identical offseason program that Holmes still has down to a science. 

“It’s kind of like riding a bike,” Vandy said. “The schedule never changes. Our routines never change. It’s been the same routine since I showed up in 2005. We’re gonna work out Monday through Thursday, we’re gonna lift and go on the grass and do things of that nature. Nothing’s really changed.”  

The Irish staff, for the last handful of seasons, has been likely the state’s deepest in former head coaching experience, between Vandy, Joel Ingram, Bin Turner, Brad Wallace and… in the latest addition… Gary Morton (who’s rejoining for his second tour of duty after several years on loan to Lamar County). 

“The staff that Coach has been able to put together for this run has got to be, if not the best, it’s gotta be tops in the state in terms of experience,” Vandy said. “Great men lead great men, and our kids are really blessed to have such a great staff.” 

And the thing you notice when in the company of so many experienced and accomplished football minds is that there never seem to be too many cooks in the kitchen. 

“There are no egos in the room,” he said in describing the team of coaching vets who share in common their belief in Dublin’s seldom-tweaked football recipe, which has been a crowd-pleaser on Friday nights for 23 years, and counting. 

“To be honest, there’s not a lot of ideas in the fact that every coach already knows what it takes to win, and has already been to state championship game. When they say something, you listen. There’s not a lot of sidebar chatter.” 

Whether it’s slow-smoking a slab of pork ribs or slapping some burgers on the gas grill for a quick weeknight meal, the art of cooking is simply putting the right things together in a way that brings out their best. 

The exact same goes for coaching, where skill and experience makes plenty of difference. But in the end, making great food often comes down to having high-quality ingredients, which Vandy has always found the Irish cupboard to have in abundant supply. 

“I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with our young men,” he said. “Our kids, man, they’re different. I think that’s why we’re so successful.”