4-time state champ Bowdon coach to take Rockmart job

Richard Fendley, the coach of Bowdon’s four consecutive football state championship teams, is leaving to become Rockmart’s head coach, pending board approval Tuesday.

Fendley told his Bowdon players of his plans Friday morning.

“This place has been phenomenal,” Fendley told the AJC. “I love Bowdon, I love the community, I love the players and the administration. I tell people all the time that Bowdon has been as good for me as I was for Bowdon. We are the elite (Class A) program in Georgia right now, we’ve won four in a row.

“But I got home over the Christmas break and kind of had this itch. I like to build. I like to chase. I like the challenge of trying to win one. And I had that feeling that it was time to do it somewhere else.”

Fendley will replace Biff Parson, who was hired at Hart County. Bowdon announced it had promoted defensive coordinator Jamie Abrams to replace Fendley.

Rockmart is a Class 2A school that has won nine consecutive region titles, all under Parson. The team holds the longest active streak of region victories with 65, dating to 2016.

Rockmart was a 2A runner-up in 2023 and 2018 but still is chasing its first state title since 1950.

“When I looked at Rockmart, they’d won nine straight region championships and been in the quarterfinals or semifinals five of the last two years, so there’s no building to do,” Fendley said. “It’s built. The facilities and support are there. They’ve just got to figure out how to get over the hump and win one.”

Fendley said that the Rockmart job would provide a raise from his current salary and also move him an hour north of Bowdon and closer to Cumberland University, where his stepson, Bowdon tight end Jaxson Jones, signed to play.

Fendley’s record at Bowdon was 79-26. Bowdon had not won a state title since 1992 until breaking through in 2022. Bowdon’s choice of Fendley in 2018 was ranked the 25th best GHSA hire of the 21st century in an AJC article last year.

Bowdon became the fourth program in GHSA history to win four consecutive titles after Eagle’s Landing Christian (2015-19), Buford (2007-10) and West Rome (1982-85). Bowdon defeated Lincoln County 35-31 in the 2025 Class A Division II championship game.

In Abrams, Bowdon is getting a coach who was 50-12 in five seasons at Cedartown before joining Bowdon’s staff last season.