An update on the Spencer High School football coach, athletic director positions

Spencer High School head football coach Pierre Coffey was approved as Baker Middle School’s new assistant principal at a Muscogee County school board meeting Monday night. The announcement means Coffey’s tenure at Spencer ends after three years.

Coffey, who was also Spencer’s athletic director, posted a 19-15 record in his three seasons with the Greenwave.

“It was an extremely tough decision to leave Spencer High School because I’ve dedicated so much time and I was invested in the kids,” Coffey said. “For the longevity of my career, one of my goals was to become an administrator. That’s what drew me to the position.”

The Greenwave won eight games in Coffey’s debut season in 2015, marking the team’s highest win total since 1967. Coffey’s 2016 team followed with a 6-5 campaign, which was the first time the Greenwave had back-to-back winning seasons since 1976-1977.

Last season, Spencer posted a 5-6 record and finished fourth in Region 5-2A. The Greenwave made the state playoffs for the third straight season, falling to Hapeville Charter in the first round.

“My experience here (at Spencer) has been invaluable to my career and my success as an educator,” Coffey said. “I was able to come in, and the community and the administration bought into our vision. We were able to do something at Spencer that hadn’t been done in a long time. I take a lot of great pride and joy knowing I was part of that.”

Coffey’s departure means the football teams at five of the eight Muscogee County public high schools will have new head coaches in 2018, the most turnover among the teams since 2008.

While it is unclear at this point who will be the next Spencer football coach, Coffey spoke highly of the group of players that coach will inherit.

“There’s going to be a nucleus of sophomores and juniors, so he’ll have a couple of years with the kids,” Coffey said. “Right now, they’re extremely hard workers. A lot of the kids are coming up from the junior varsity level, and our junior varsity team was really good last year. Those kids, they have a tremendous upside and a lot of promise to them.”

Spencer High School principal Johnny Freeman has not responded to a request for comment.

This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 10:57 AM with the headline "An update on the Spencer High School football coach, athletic director positions."