Coffee coach explains his team’s turnaround to 5-0 after 4-7 finish in 2025
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Coffee coach Mike Coe, whose team is 5-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class 6A entering its home game Friday night against No. 4 Lee County. MaxPreps ranks it the No. 7 game nationally this weekend. Coe’s record is 45-13 in his five seasons at Coffee and led the Trojans to their first state title in 2023.
1. You’ve bounced back this season after a 4-7 finish. What’s the biggest change to this season from last?
“A couple things: No. 1, we have senior leadership this season from a group of guys that have always won and done things the right way, and they did not like that taste that last year’s season left us. No. 2, we focused far more on speed this offseason, and our kids embraced it. We timed and tracked everything all off season and summer. No. 3, we added new assistant coaches that brought new ideas and a hunger and desire to be at Coffee High School.”
Note: Coffee’s new coaches Garrett Grady (offensive line), Lacey Herring (slots), Dalton Bynum and Kyle Williams (defensive line), Matt Simon (safeties), Kirk Mitchell (cornerbacks), Josh Schmitt (linebackers) and Hunter Hardin (ninth grade). Garrett was head coach at Brunswick last season. Herring was head coach at Monroe last season.
2. What does Lee County pose as an opponent this season that is particularly worrisome or different from most teams?
“They’re big, fast and explosive. They’re a physical football team that can run and throw the ball. They have weapons everywhere, and I really love how their Mike linebacker plays. He reminds me of our Mike linebacker: same number, same physical style of play, and you can tell he loves football. Their defensive front is as good as you’re going to see at the high school level. Their offensive line is huge, and coach (John) Flath is as good as you will find coaching them.”
Note: Lee County’s Mike (or middle) linebacker is Jace Murray, who leads Lee County in total tackles (29) and tackles for loss (seven). He is committed to Army. Wearing jersey No. 6 for Coffee is Jordan Solomon, who has nearly identical stats — 30 total tackles and seven tackles for loss. Both are about 6 feet, 225 pounds. Solomon is uncommitted.
3. You’ve averaged about 10 wins a year since you came to Georgia, and you’ve largely done it without Power 4-type players. I’m not sure you’ve had any. What does that say about your program or your philosophy? How do you win in a high class in Georgia without that star power?
“I know our fans probably think we are boring to watch, but you have to be better than your opponent, or different. Coffee is made up of old-school, tough, hard-working kids, and when I took this job, that was why. Jerry Odom called me about it and said, ‘I think you’d be the perfect fit; they’re your type of kids,’ And that has been 100% correct. I am going to love our kids like they’re my own and discipline them like they’re my own, and I will not hire a guy who does not think the same way. Tough people win in life, and tough times don’t last; tough people do. Even in last year’s struggles, every one of those seniors graduated and walked across that stage, and they would tell you we did not throw them out when the season was over. We still checked on them and made sure they were doing right in school, etc. We do not mind playing in uncomfortable situations, dog fights, etc., and our kids know that win, lose or draw, coach Coe is not gonna love me any less.”
4. If you find yourself in a tough spot in Friday night’s game, and you’re not sure what to do, but you’re allowed a timeout and a five-minute phone call to anybody for advice, who would you call and why?
“I am going to spend two and a half minutes on the phone with my high school coach, Joe Parrish, tell him what I am seeing and ask him what he would do, and then the last two and a half minutes with my Uncle Kenny (Strong), who was coach Parrish’s defensive coordinator for like 20 years and is like my dad. I know what he would tell me, but hearing him say it would make it all OK. He has always been my rock, the one I go to for wisdom and to see the bigger picture. Those two men and my mom are who I owe any success I have had to.”
Note: Coe was an all-state center at Auburndale High in Florida and spent his first 10 seasons as an assistant coach on the staff of his alma mater.