“I wanted to have a program with established morals and values, that could mold players into men of character and responsibility,” he said. “I wanted to provide structure year-round. I wanted a total program commitment in an old-school way.”
In the 17 seasons since, Parrish shaped Wise into one of the most successful and respected football institutions in Maryland. By winning 11 county championships, 10 region championships and six state titles, Parrish changed the football landscape in Prince George’s County and beyond. Dozens of former Pumas have played in college, and several have reached the NFL.
For now, his work at Wise is done. Parrish is stepping down, less than two months after winning that sixth state title, as he seeks a break from a job that had come to dominate his life.
“It feels like I’ve been doing this from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. as long as I can remember,” he said. “My oldest daughter is 18, and she grew up with me on that type of schedule. I feel like I need to be with my family more.”
The 47-year-old, who has four children, said he is not retiring from coaching.
“I’m not done,” he said. “It’s to be continued. But the next situation I put myself into has to allow me a better balance between my family and football.”
Parrish employed a passionate, hard-edge coaching style that was loved by the players who embraced it.
“He’s tough, no doubt about it,” said former Pumas quarterback Jabari Laws, who played at Army. “And if you can’t take it, you couldn’t be a part of that program. He wants you to be great, he expects you to be great, and it builds that strength within you.”
Even as a larger and larger portion of the local talent pool filtered to private schools, Parrish continued to develop elite athletes. The Pumas’ first state title came in 2012, just six years into the program’s existence. The second came in 2015, and that was the beginning of a stunning stretch. From 2015 to 2018, Wise won 43 straight games and three state titles.
“That was a magical time,” said Laws, the All-Met Offensive Player of the Year in 2016. “We were just hungry. Coach wanted excellence out of all of us, and it got to the point where we were pushing each other. We wanted excellence as well.”
The Pumas were untouchable close to home. Beginning in 2015, they went nearly eight years without losing to a county opponent. Most of those games ended with a lopsided score and a running clock.
“To win 43 straight games, to beat all your county opponents for years — I don’t know if we’ll ever see either of those things again,” said Steve Rapp, the Pumas’ longtime offensive coordinator.
Parrish was named All-Met Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2021.
Even after that run of success, guiding the program became more complicated in recent years. Among other issues, Parrish was tasked with navigating the coronavirus pandemic, the rise in player movement and shifting attitudes in how athletes should be coached.
“It started to feel like I was just trying to hold things together,” Parrish said. “Everything was changing, but the one constant was football and winning. I think some of the morals and values and commitment that it takes to get there was lost. It wasn’t the same. … I was always fighting, either with the people up top to get things in order or just trying to maintain a culture. It was tough, and my patience was running thin.”
This season was especially trying: The Pumas lost their starting quarterback to an eligibility issue after the first game. After a rocky start, Wise got right in the comfortable confines of county play, posting shutouts in six of eight regular season league games. By the time the postseason arrived, the Pumas were a fearsome contender again. On Dec. 1, they beat Broadneck, 21-0, for the Class 4A title.
“It was a blessing to play for him,” said DeCarlos Young, a junior linebacker who claimed first-team All-Met honors this fall. “Just knowing all that he had accomplished and the sacrifices he made to make the program the way it is now, he changed a lot of young men’s lives. … I’m proud to say me and my teammates were able to [win a title] with him before he left.”
Parrish said he will remember the players — hundreds of them just like Young — most about his time at Wise.
“Every year, I get to watch former players go live a life, go raise a family,” he said. “They go and be the best they can be. And sometimes they come back and tell me Wise had something to do with that. … The idea that you can change someone’s life is powerful, but I don’t think those players and families realize how much they changed my life, too.”