Former Chattahoochee County football coach Jody Allen dies at 60
Former Chattahoochee County High School football coach Jody Allen has died.
Allen, who was an assistant coach for 10 years at Florida State, died at 60 Thursday while receiving hospice care in his Columbus home after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Allen coached defensive ends and special teams under Bobby Bowden in the 2000s. He joined ChattCo in 2016 and was head coach in 2019, when the Panthers went 7-5 and reached the second round of the Georgia High School Association Class 1A playoffs.
“Coach Allen was a strong supporter of ChattCo football as he served our team in several roles on the coaching staff,” ChattCo superintendent Kristie Brooks told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “More importantly, he believed in teaching young men the skills needed to develop into independent adults capable of good decision making.
“He started each season by inviting players to church and enjoying a Sunday lunch with them. This time off the field was more important to him because it created the opportunity for him to have a lasting influence on the our youth.”
Allen also served ChattCo has the lead special-education teacher in the middle school for students who “required a focus on life and work skills,” Brooks said.
“It was in this environment that we saw everything Coach Allen was capable of accomplishing to impact children’s futures,” she said. “He was a natural at weaving in financial literacy and decision-making skills while his students worked in the school’s coffee shop.
“He used agriculture and outdoor learning to teach students the importance of farming and harvesting vegetables for a healthy meal. His impact on the students enrolled in ChattCo will forever be felt.”
The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Edgewood Baptist Church of Columbus, 3564 Forrest Road, followed by visitation in the church, according to McMullen Funeral Home and Crematory.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 1:41 PM.
