Coaching changes: Luella hire, Dunwoody resignation, Schley unretirement

Luella hired a football coach Monday, Dunwoody’s 10-year coach stepped down Tuesday, and Schley County’s coach unretired.

Luella hired Crisp County defensive coordinator Will Richardson, who been a head coach at Richland Northeast in Columbia, S.C., for two seasons before joining Crisp in 2021. He was Westlake’s offensive coordinator three seasons before that.

Luella has finished 6-6 the past two seasons, winning playoff games in consecutive years for the first time in history.

Dunwoody’s Michael Nash announced on his X account (formerly known as Twitter) that he was stepping away from a program that he has led since 2015, which made him DeKalb County Schools' longest-tenured football coach.

Nash’s teams were 34-66. They made the playoffs each of the past two seasons.

“A man I love and respect told me a long time ago, ‘You can leave while they still ove you or you can hang around until they all hate you,’ “ Nash wrote. “I am extremely proud of where we have come in this program, but it has reached the time for me to step away.”

The DeKalb coach that has been in place the longest is now Lakeside’s Morris Starr, who just finished his sixth season.

Schley County’s Darren Alford, who retired in December, confirmed Tuesday that he has changed his mind about retiring after getting news that he could work part-time as a teacher and remain a coach full-time.

Alford said he never wanted to stop coaching.

“I will coach football in some aspect as long as I am able,” Alford said. “My heart is with the program at Schley. I just got burned out having to teach a full day with all my duties. When the solution of part time came along, it was a no-brainer for me.”

Alford’s nine-year record is 72-34 with two region titles with a 2022 Class A Public runner-up finish in 2022.

Here are the GHSA coaching openings and hirings that have been reported since the end of the 2024 season.

Click here for a complete list of head coaching hires and openings.