It wasn’t planned that way, but Pebblebrook and Tri-Cities effectively traded football coaches this offseason.
Pebblebrook, a Cobb County school, on Tuesday approved the hire of Rodney Hackney, formerly of Tri-Cities. The news comes just a few days after Tri-Cities announced it hired Pebblebrook’s former coach, Michael Woolridge.
Both had stepped down from their previous posts for months with new ventures in sight. Both coaches arrived at their former schools in 2023, inheriting losing teams. Both left with winning teams but looked for new challenges.
“The communities are mirror images of each other with hardworking kids who play hard until the whistle blows,” Hackney said. “I’ve been in Cobb before. I was coach at Osborne in 2005. So it was just the thrill of coming back to this school attracted me. I know how they do things. They put kids in position to win. I thought this would be a good challenge.”
Hackney is a 21-year head coach and Pebblebrook will be his eighth school. His teams have won three region titles. Hackney led Tri-Cities’ 2024 team to its first winning season, with a 6-4 record, since 2015.
Pebblebrook is coming off a 6-5 finish under Woolridge after going 2-8 with an 0-4 region record in 2023.
Pebblebrook plays in Class 6A, the highest. Tri-Cities, a south Fulton County school, is in Class 5A.
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