Clinch Co. to rehire five-time state champion Dickerson out of retirement

Clinch County plans to rehire Jim Dickerson, who won five state titles at the south Georgia school before retiring after the 2018 season, to lead the program again after parting ways with former coach Don Tison Jr. last week.

ITG Next’s Phil Jones was the first to report the news. It was to be approved Thursday.

Dickerson won state titles in his first season (2004) and what was thought to be his last (2018) along with championships in 2017, 2015 and 2010. He was 155-42-1 in his 15 seasons.

Tison Jr.’s teams were 44-18 in his six seasons as coach, including 11-2 in 2023, with semifinal appearances his first two years.

Tison is the son of Don Tison Sr., for whom Clinch County’s football stadium is named. Tison Sr. was head coach for 20 seasons and won the school’s first two state titles in 1988 and 1991. Tison Sr. was followed by Cecil Barber, who led for 10 seasons and won a championship in 2002.

Both Dickerson and Tison Jr. are Homerville natives who had spent almost their full lives in Clinch County. Dickerson joined Clinch County’s staff in 1988.

Clinch County High School is in Homerville, a town of 2,500 between Waycross and Valdosta on the Florida border.