Pelham, a Class A Public region champion in football three of the past five seasons, announced Valdosta offensive coordinator Shawn Sutton as its head coach Tuesday.
Sutton, a longtime assistant to Rush Propst during stops at Valdosta, Colquitt County and Hoover, will replace Dondrial Pinkins, who became head coach at arch-rival Mitchell County earlier this month. Mitchell County is Pinkins’ alma mater.
Sutton was considered by some to be Propst’s top assistant at Colquitt, where Sutton served a couple of stints and worked as offensive coordinator and weight-room coordinator at various times.
Sutton also has worked at several schools in Alabama, his home state. He was head coach at Ashville in Alabama from 2000 to 2003. Sutton almost became a head coach previously in Georgia, announced as Troup’s new coach in 2015, but changed his mind and returned to Colquitt.
“Coach Sutton has coached and competed at the highest levels and has won state championships,’' Pelham superintendent Floyd Fort said in a release. “Everyone we talked to said he is the glue. He is the nuts and the bolts.’'
At Valdosta, Propst remains under administrative leave while the school system investigates allegations of financial misconduct related to the booster club and transfer players.