One month into its search for a head football coach, Valdosta still holds the biggest of 17 unfilled openings this off-season.
The nation’s winningest program has interviewed Dean Fabrizio of Lee County, Kareem Reid of Griffin, Kenny Sanchez of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Mike Coe of Madison County in Florida and others.
Fabrizio, Coe and Reid have told Valdosta radio stations or other media that they have pulled themselves out of contention. Sanchez also is not believed to be a candidate, according to sources. Brooks County coach Maurice Freeman applied but later pulled out, according to a source.
Rush Propst, the former Colquitt County coach, and Valdosta offensive coordinator Joshua Crawford have expressed interest in the job. Valdosta boosters reportedly have reached out to Tom Knotts, the 2019 National High School Football Coaches Association coach of the year. He led Dutch Fork to the South Carolina Class 5A championship last season.
Valdosta terminated the contract of Alan Rodemaker officially on Feb. 11 despite the coach’s 36-17 record and one state title over four seasons.
There have been 60 reported head-coaching changes among the GHSA’s 425 football-playing schools, and 43 of them have been announced as filled.
Another 20-30 openings can be expected as hires of current head coaches often trigger a domino effect.
Below are the reporting openings and the new coach if announced.
Alpharetta - Former coach: Jacob Nichols. New coach: Jason Kervin
Baconton Charter - Former coach: Parker Rentz. New coach: Open
Beach - Former coach: Ulysses Hawthorne. New coach: Open
Cass - Former coach: Bobby Hughes. New coach: Open
Cedartown - Former coach: Doyle Kelley. New coach: Jamie Abrams
Centennial - Former coach: Shane Sams. New coach: Open
Central Gwinnett - Former coach: Todd Wofford. New coach: Jason Thompson
Chattahoochee County - Former coach: Jody Allen. New coach: Pierre Coffey
Chattooga - Former coach: Charles Hammon. New coach: Shawn Peek
Coahulla Creek - Former coach: Caleb Bagley. New coach: Danny Wilson
Coosa - Former coach: Todd Wheeler. New coach: Joey Mathis
Dade County - Former coach: Dale Pruitt. New coach: Jeff Poston
Decatur - Former coach: Cody Cory. New coach: William Felton
Deerfield-Windsor - Former coach: Allen Lowe. New coach: Jake McCrae
Denmark - Former coach: Terry Crowder. New coach: Mike Palmieri
Dooly County - Former coach: Ashley Harden. New coach: Phillip Hale
Druid Hills - Former coach: Rosaria Rice. New coach: Open
Etowah - Former coach: Dave Svehla. New coach: Open
Forest Park - Former coach: Gerren Griffin. New coach: Open
Hebron Christian - Former coach: Jeff Saturday. New coach: Stan Luttrell
Hillgrove - Former coach: Phillip Ironside. New coach: Byron Slack
Irwin County - Former coach: Buddy Nobles. New coach: Casey Soliday
Islands - Former coach: Robert Zoller. New coach: Deshawn Printup
Jenkins - Former coach: Jason Cameron. New coach: Open
Johnson (Gainesville) - Former coach: Stan Luttrell. New coach: Open
King's Ridge Christian - Former coach: Jeff Pickren. New coach: Terry Crowder
KIPP Atlanta - Former coach: James Briscoe. New coach: Coy Brown
LaGrange - Former coach: Chuck Gibbs. New coach: Matt Napier
Lakeview Academy - Former coach: Mattew Gruhn. New coach: Lee Shaw
Lambert - Former coach: Louis Daniel. New coach: Tommy Watson
Lincoln County - Former coach: Michael Pollock. New coach: Lee Chomskis
Loganville - Former coach: Mike Humphreys. New coach: Open
Loganville Christian - Former coach: Patrick Stewart. New coach: Adam Miller
Lowndes - Former coach: Randy McPherson. New coach: Jamie Dubose
Luella - Former coach: Jason Jackson. New coach: Craig Coleman
Manchester - Former coach: Evan Hochstetler. New coach: James Moore
Mount Zion (Jonesboro) - Former coach: Kevin Jones. New coach: Open
North Paulding - Former coach: Jim Bryant. New coach: Open
Northside (Columbus) - Former coach: Dave Nurnberg. New coach: Andrew Oropeza
Northside (Warner Robins) - Former coach: Kevin Kinsler. New coach: Chad Alligood
Pataula Charter - Former coach: Richard Andrews. New coach: Open
Providence Christian - Former coach: Parker Conley. New coach: Jonathan Beverly
Redan - Former coach: Rahman Sparks. New coach: Open
Savannah - Former coach: Rebel Green. New coach: Michael Moore
Social Circle - Former coach: Chad Estes. New coach: Rob Patton
South Paulding - Former coach: Jason Thompson. New coach: Jason Nash
Southeast Whitfield - Former coach: Sean Gray. New coach: Todd Murray
Spalding - Former coach: Jeff Hammond. New coach: Karl Kearney
Tattnall County - Former coach: Nick Tatum. New coach: Ike Ferrell
Tri-Cites - Former coach: Terrence Banks. New coach: Cueavs Dargan
Trion - Former coach: Justin Brown. New coach: Open
Turner County - Former coach: Nick Hayes. New coach: Kevious Johnson
Union Grove - Former coach: Chad Frazier. New coach: Casey Smith
Valdosta - Former coach: Alan Rodemaker . New coach: Open
Vidalia - Former coach: Lee Chomskis. New coach: Jason Cameron
Walker - Former coach: Matt Casper. New coach: Michael Gunn
West Forsyth - Former coach: Shawn Cahill. New coach: Dave Svehla
Wheeler County - Former coach: Timothy McArthur. New coach: Thomas Smith
Whitewater - Former coach: Bryan Holley. New coach: Chad Frazier
Wilkinson County - Former coach: Keldrick Burke. New coach: Open
Windsor Forest - Former coach: Issac Ferrell. New coach: Jeb Stewart
Worth County - Former coach: Frankie Carroll. New coach: Phillip Ironside
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