Steve Pardue, the coach who led LaGrange to three state championships nearly a decade ago, was named as East Coweta’s head coach on Monday.
Pardue will replace Clint Wade, who was 38-29 in six seasons. East Coweta has reached the state playoffs each season in the highest classification since 1997 but advanced only once (2012) since Danny Cronic’s retirement in 2007.
Pardue led LaGrange to state titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004 before taking a college assistant job at Kentucky in 2011
Pardue was out of a job in 2012, when Kentucky fired head coach Joker Phillips, a longtime friend of Pardue’s. Pardue was 161-45 at LaGrange.
Pardue returned to live in LaGrange last year but did not coach. His son, Chas, attended LaGrange and played on the school’s baseball team.
He expressed his desire to return to coaching to Georgia High School Football Daily in November.
“I miss high school,” Pardue said. “I told [Kentucky] when I was there I was a high school coach. I like the lifestyle. I like playing on Friday and watching college football on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong. We had a great time in Kentucky. Lexington is a great place to live. But I want to be a high school coach again. Selfishly I want a chance to win another championship. I want to make another run at one.”
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