Shaw High School has a new head football coach

Shaw High School has a new head football coach.

Al Pellegrino confirmed in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer that principal Adam Herring has promoted him from defensive coordinator to head coach.

“I am very humbled and privileged to have this opportunity to be the leader of this program,” Pellegrino said.

Herring hasn’t been reached for comment.

Pellegrino replaces Chuck Stamey, who resigned last month after the Raiders went 6-14 in his two seasons, including 1-9 this year.

Pellegrino said he has been a high school football coach for 25 years. According to the bio he gave the Ledger-Enquirer, he has a career record of 69-60 in 12 seasons as a head football coach, including jobs at Savannah, East Hall (Gainesville) and Heritage (Conyers) high schools in Georgia and at Lake County, Ripley and Sycamore (Pleasant View) high schools in Tennessee.

“Every team that I have been involved with has made it into the postseason during my tenure at the helm,” Pellegrino said.

He came to Shaw last year to become athletics director and defensive coordinator, returning to the school he attended for a few years as a student, he told The Tennessean in July. He resigned after going 6-5 in one season at Sycamore to be closer to his ailing mother, he told tnhighschoolfootball.com.

Pellegrino will continue to be Shaw’s athletics director, but it’s too early to say who will succeed him as defensive coordinator.

“I am in the process of assembling a staff,” he said.

The Raiders can expect to have a disciplined team with Pellegrino as head coach, he said.

“We will be physical and sound in what we do,” he said. “I want a team that pays attention to small details.”

Shaw is trying to return the program to a level of excellence the Raiders haven’t experienced since Charles Flowers led them to a 124-45 record from 1992-2005, including a state championship in 2000. In the 11 seasons since Flowers left, the Raiders have gone 57-65 under five head coaches.

Pellegrino’s goals for the program in 2017 are “to be respected throughout the region and the state,” he said. “I want to establish a team that Shaw faculty and students can be proud of on and off the field, a team that is valued in the community.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Shaw High School has a new head football coach."