NEW HEAD HOUND
At some point in the future, Chad Alligood envisioned swapping being a football coach for the role of being a full-time athletic director.
That time, not to mention the opportunity, arrived last Tuesday for Alligood, who was announced by Jones County High School as its new athletic director. It happened one day after he resigned as head football coach at Northside, which is part of a school system that has in recent years shied away from having football coaches also be athletic directors.
Alligood’s hire comes as a move away from a career of football coaching, most recently as head coach of Northside this past season, where the Eagles played Jones County in the season opener.
“I was ready to take the next step in my career. I was ready to be a full-time athletic director. I’ve loved being an AD and in Houston County, they kind of took that away from the football coaches,” Alligood said. “I knew at some point, I’d want to transition into just being a full-time athletic director. I was not sure if it would happen this way, but the timing was absolutely perfect for me and my wife to make this move. The Good Lord works in mysterious ways, it was something we could not turn down.”
Alligood officially begins his job on Jan. 2 but is already hitting the ground running, having met with a majority of Greyhounds coaches early last Thursday morning and also made rounds at this week’s Morris Bank Holiday Basketball Tournament as he further gets acclimated.
“I didn’t want the coaches to come out of Christmas saying, ‘who is this guy? I’ve heard of him but don’t know who he is,’” Alligood said. “I knew of a handful of people there, already, so it was not like I was totally new and didn’t know anybody. I’m just excited about the opportunity.”
Having built relationships with multiple people in Jones County was a draw, Alligood said. Those included head football coach Mike Chastain, principal Lance Rackley and Superintendent of Schools Charles Lundy. “Me and Coach Chastain coached together at Northside, and we’ve been friends for a long time. (Rackley), I kind of knew him from being out and about and Mr. Lundy, I’ve known him since I was in high school,” Alligood said. “I had some connections with some people there, some of the teachers there, I coached when I started my career at John Milledge and knew some of the teachers from other stops I have been at, so there was definitely some familiarity.”
Alligood sees that groundwork as an advantage.
He has even leaned on intel from his predecessor at Jones County – former athletic director Barry Veal, who Alligood said he sought out for insight on Sunday afternoon.
“You never want to go into a job in this profession totally blind. You always want to have people who will tell you the truth and give you good insight,” Alligood said. “Jones County has always been known as a great place to work.”
Alligood’s coaching career has included stops at John Milledge, FPD, Northside, and Perry in addition to being the head coach at Northside and Washington-Wilkes, the latter of which he served as athletic director. That varied experience appeared to draw the attention of Jones County.
“He has been an athletic director at smaller systems and has been a successful coach,” Lundy said. “We wanted someone with a proven track record, and his experience and contacts with other programs are an asset and a strength.”
Between now and January, Alligood will be shifting gears, putting one chapter to bed and opening a new one. That will include looking ahead to leading a JCHS athletic department whose teams captured three region titles in the fall sports season.
“The ultimate vision is for it to be the best in the state of Georgia. I want all of us pulling for the same thing,” Alligood said. “Even though I’ve coached football for 28 years, I’ve coached other sports, too. I want everyone to be successful. I told our coaches the other day, when the JC logo walks on the field, I want us to win, on and off the field.”
