Football hires: Pelham’s Pinkins rejoins alma mater, arch rival

ajc.com

Dondrial Pinkins is leaving Pelham, a Class A Public football program that he led to new heights, for its arch region and county rival, Mitchell County.

That sort of move doesn’t happen often, but Pinkins’ reason is reasonable — Mitchell County is his alma mater. Pinkins explained to WALB-TV in Albany how he told his Pelham players.

“We kind of just came together and talked as coaches and pulled at our hearts, and I think they understand that this is an opportunity for me that wasn’t an easy decision to make,” Pinkins said. “But ... to have the opportunity to come back home is an opportunity that doesn’t come around every day.”

Pinkins’ record at Pelham was 53-15 in six seasons with three region titles and state semifinals finishes in 2018 and 2019. Pelham, which first fielded football teams in the 1920s, had reached only one prior semifinal. Mitchell County has been good in that time also, winning region championships in 2017 and 2019 under Deshon Brock, who left to become head coach at Bradwell Institute.

Pinkins, a former quarterback at South Carolina, was Mitchell County’s coach from 2009 to 2011, but he opted to join Valdosta’s staff in 2012, then worked for Thomasville as offensive coordinator, each move designed to give him broader experience.

South Carolina's quarterback Dondrial Pinkins (5) throws under preasure from Tennessee's LaRon Harris (91) during the fourth quarter Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Despite a 43-29 loss to Tennessee, Pinkins had a career high 30 of 42 passes for a total of  306 yards.  (Mary Ann Chastain/AP)

Credit: MARY ANN CHASTAIN

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Credit: MARY ANN CHASTAIN

With Pelham needing a coach, there now have been 80 openings this off-season with 12 still unfilled. Those include Dacula, Griffin and Stephenson. Douglass, Therrell and Washington in Atlanta Public Schools have made tentative unannounced choices that await human resources approval, which could come as early as next week.

Here are reported hires and openings.

Alexander - Olten Downs. Former coach: Matt Combs

Appling County - Jordan Mullis. Former coach: Rick Tomberlin

Arabia Mountain - Julian Washington. Former coach: Stanley Pritchett

Banneker - Braxton Kelly. Former coach: Lou George

Blessed Trinity - Tom Hall. Former coach: Tim McFarlin

Bradwell Institute - Deshon Brock. Former coach: Kyle Adkins

Camden County - Jeff Heron. Former coach: Bob Sphire

Carrollton - Joey King. Former coach: Sean Calhoun

Cedar Grove - John Adams. Former coach: Miguel Patrick

Central-Talbotton - Open. Former coach: Cedric Stegall

Chapel Hill - Open. Former coach: Justin Deshon

Crawford County - Craig Puckett. Former coach: Jhon Smith

Crisp County - Miguel Patrick. Former coach: Brad Harber

Dacula - Open. Former coach: Clint Jenkins

Dalton - Kit Carpenter. Former coach: Matt Land

Douglass - Open. Former coach: Rodney Cofield

Eagle’s Landing - Markus Brown. Former coach: Shawn Jones

East Forsyth - Brian Allison. Former coach: New school.

East Hall - Open. Former coach: Michael Perry

Eastside - Jay Cawthon. Former coach: Troy Hoff

Effingham County - John Ford. Former coach: Buddy Holder

Evans - Barrett Davis. Former coach: Lemuel Lackey

Fellowship Christian - Tim McFarlin. Former coach: Al Morrell

Forsyth Central - David Rooney. Former coach: Frank Helper

Franklin County - Parker Martin. Former coach: Paul Sutherland

George Walton Academy - Logan Beer. Former coach: Shane Davis

Gilmer - Paul Standard. Former coach: Kevin Saunders

Griffin - Open. Former coach: Kareem Reid

Grovetown - Cory Evans. Former coach: Damien Postell

Hardaway - Open. Former coach: Michael Woolridge

Harrison - Josh Cassidy. Former coach: Matt Dickmann

Heard County - Shane Lasseter. Former coach: Tim Barron

Hillgrove - Justin Deshon. Former coach: Byron Slack

Monticello - Aaron Pitts. Former coach: Roderick Jackson

Jenkins - Open. Former coach: Gene Clemmons

Jordan - Dale Overton. Former coach: Joseph Kegler

LaFayette - Open. Former coach: Paul Ellis

Lake Oconee Academy - Drew Anthony. Former coach: New program

Lamar County - Travis Ellington. Former coach: Jeff Sloan

Landmark Christian - Tommy Lewis. Former coach: Mike Sherrard

Locust Grove - Mark Miller. Former coach: Clint Satterfield

Long County - Mike Pfiester. Former coach: John Pollock

Manchester - Steven Holmes. Former coach: James Moore

McDonough - Rodney Cofield. Former coach: Eric Solomon

Miller Grove - Melvin Brown. Former coach: Lee Hannah

Mitchell County - Dondrial Pinkins. Former coach: Deshon Brock

Monroe - Lacey Herring. Former coach: Charles Truitt

Morgan County - Clint Jenkins. Former coach: Bill Malone

North Springs - Jeff Phillips. Former coach: Scotty Parker

Northview - Open. Former coach: James Thomson

Oglethorpe County - Michael Holland. Former coach: Ronnie Harris

Osborne - Luqman Salam. Former coach: Russell Isham

Our Lady of Mercy - Shawn Cahill. Former coach: Mark Miller

Pelham - Open. Former coach: Dondrial Pinkins

Pickens - Grant Myers. Former coach: Jeff Nelson

Portal - Jason McEachin. Former coach: Matt Smith

Rockdale County - Lee Hannah. Former coach: Derek Coggin

Savannah Country Day - Tyler Ward. Former coach: Jim Collis

Southeast Bulloch - Open. Former coach: Barrett Davis

Seminole County - Cedric Stegall. Former coach: Trey Woolf

South Cobb - Thomas Hanson. Former coach: Terry Jones

South Forsyth - Troy Morris. Former coach: Jeff Arnette

South Gwinnett - Bryan Lamar. Former coach: Steve Davenport

Spencer - Joseph Kegler. Former coach: Robert Sanders

St. Pius - Chad Garrison. Former coach: Paul Standard

Stephenson - Open. Former coach: Ron Gartrell

Stockbridge - Thomas Clark. Former coach: Steve Boyd

Therrell - Open. Former coach: Greg Sullivan

Tift County - Noel Dean. Former coach: Ashley Anders

Towers - Michael Johnson. Former coach: Vonnell Carter

Tucker - James Thomson. Former coach: Bryan Lamar

Union County - Michael Perry. Former coach: Brian Allison

Villa Rica - Tim Barron. Former coach: Christian Hunnicutt

Walker - Gary Nelson. Former coach: Aaron Dobbins

Washington - Open. Former coach: Derrick Avery

Westover - Adam Miller. Former coach: Olten Downs

Westside - Lee Hotto. Former coach: Jon Wiley

Woodland-Stockbridge - Julian Hicks. Former coach: Bryan Bailey

Woodstock - Troy Hoff. Former coach: Brent Budde