Griffin coach DeVoursney turns in surprise resignation

Photo by Craig Sager II

Griffin’s veteran head coach Steve DeVoursney announced that he would be resigning on Tuesday before addressing the team on Wednesday.

“Today will be my last day at head football coach at Griffin,” said DeVoursney in an interview with the AJC. “We won a state championship. Lost a bunch of coaches. It was a long season. Felt like it’s time to move on and pursue other things. I have no idea where I’ll coach again. I’m wide open. I’ll start looking today and see what happens.’’

This past season, DeVoursney  joined rare company by leading Griffin to its first outright state title in school history and a first perfect season (15-0). DeVoursney joined an even shorter list by becoming one of the few individuals in Georgia history to win a state title as a head coach and player. DeVoursney reached the podium as a player in 1988 with R.E. Lee.

DeVoursney came to Griffin as an assistant in 1996 and was defensive coordinator in 2000 before he got the head coaching job  midseason when the head coach David McNight was let go.  (According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association). DeVoursney won 107 games in his last 10 seasons at Griffin and leaves behind an all-time 128-35 record in his 13 seasons.

Griffin has been one of the top producers of college talent in the state the past several seasons and its quarterback Jaquez Parks was named AJC 2013 Georgia All-classification Player of the Year before signing with Kennesaw State this past February.

I spoke with Griffin athletic director Dr. Kennedy Holt on Wednesday to see if there were any disciplinary obstacles or infractions that influenced DeVoursney’s decision to resign. Holt did not suggest any wrongdoings but did mentioned the next step in this process would go through the Griffin-Spalding County Scphool District, which will finalize the resignation before a new hire could be made. According to the district’s director of community services Judy Parker, the position should be officially opened and posted within the upcoming week.

According to an update made on Wednesday in the AJC’s coverage, the superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones revealed that a special meeting would be held on Thursday to settle a four-year old complaint. Jones is quoted in the article saying ”This process began based on a complaint we received that dealt with the school year 2010-11,’’ Jones said. “It’s not about this year’s (2013) football team. It’s a personnel matter. The board will consider his request for being release from his contract.’’

UPDATE:

Thursday, April 10 AJC releases a report that explains that allegations between Griffin and Spalding began when Griffin turned in Spalding for a recruiting violation four years ago. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE DEPARTURE

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