Therrell hires Jamison; South Atlanta’s Stephens steps down

ajc.com

One Atlanta city school hired a football coach this week while another posted an opening.

Therrell of Class 2A hired Douglass County assistant head coach Broderick Jamison, a Therrell alumnus, to replace Greg Sullivan, who will remain as athletic director. Therrell was 2-6 last season and most recently had a winning season in 2002.

South Atlanta, which achieved its first state-playoff victory in history last season, is looking for a coach as Brad Stephens has resigned to pursue other head-coaching opportunities. His record at South Atlanta was 28-26 at a school that was 12-38 in the previous five seasons.

South Atlanta, like Therrell a Class 2A school, is the fourth of the 10 Atlanta city high school football teams to search for a new coach this offseason.

Douglass brought on Arabia Mountain coach Stanley Pritchett to replace Rodney Cofield, who is now at McDonough, and Washington hired Stockbridge defensive coordinator Justin Rivers to replace Derrick Avery. Avery will remain at their schools as athletic directors. He was named the Atlanta Falcons coach of the year earlier this month for his impact on and off the field.

The turnover at Atlanta Public Schools is unusual. Its 10 football head coaches had an average tenure of 7.6 seasons last season, well above the state average of 4.8. Gwinnett County’s 5.1 seasons was the next-highest among large metro Atlanta school systems.