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.
Credit: MARY ANN CHASTAIN
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
About the Author
