Dutchtown is the latest winning football team looking for a head coach.
Niketa Battle was fired Friday despite a 25-13 record in three seasons and a Class 5A semifinal finish in 2022.
“I had some kids that transferred, and administration said I had limited parent contact and they wanted to go in a different direction,” Battle told the AJC. “It was definitely a shock. I felt the program was still moving in a good direction.”
Battled said that six players, four of them starters, had transferred in the offseason. They included all-state quarterback Mike Johnson to Douglas County and Duke-committed defensive lineman Ayden Cain to Gainesville.
Dutchtown, competing in Class 5A, was 7-5 in 2024, 6-6 in 2023 and 12-2 in 2022.
Battle said that he agreed to have monthly meetings with parents and always maintained an open-door policy.
“But that wasn’t enough,” Battle said. “I respect they want to go in a different direction. I just felt I did the best I could for the program.”
Battle had come from Mays, an Atlanta city school, where he won three region titles in six seasons. His record at Mays was 44-25.
Battle announced his departure on X (formerly Twitter).
“We’ve had some great games and some nail biters!” Battle said in his post. “Throughout it all our proud kids played for the team’s success. For that I’m forever grateful.”
Dutchtown is a Henry County school best known in football for former star player Will Anderson, an NFL defensive and who was an All-American at Alabama.
This offseason has been unusual for the number of coaches with winning records who have surprisingly moved on or been let go.
Those include Prince Avenue Christian’s Greg Vandagriff (106-17 record), Cedartown’s Jamie Abrams (50-12) and Jones County’s Mike Chastain (56-20).
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