VALDOSTA — Rick Tomberlin has said more than once he would only leave Washington County for one job.

On Monday night, he took that job.

Tomberlin became the 14th head coach in Valdosta High’s 93-year football history. In his 22 seasons as a head coach, at Washington County, Lowndes and Jonesboro, he has gone 200-80, with state championships in 1994, 1997 and 1998.

He was quietly offered the job last Friday, but had to keep quiet about it until Monday, when the Valdosta Board of Education unanimously voted to approve his hire.

Tomberlin will be the head coach, director of football operations, and a physical education teacher. He will be responsible for overseeing Valdosta and their entire feeder system, and trying to return the Wildcats back to where they are perennial contenders for a state championship.

“The challenge is restoring the tradition of Valdosta football,” Tomberlin told The Macon Telegraph. “I’ve got the reins of the most successful football program in America. It’s an awesome honor.”

“I’ve got an opportunity to go to the winningest high school program in America,” he added. “It’s the Notre Dame of Georgia high schools.”

Now Valdosta hopes Tomberlin can be their Charlie Weis, restoring the program to a high level of play perennially.

“At Valdosta, as we know, the expectations are to compete for a state championship,” Valdosta High Principal Brett Stanton said. “For us to get a coach of his caliber here — he’s the winningest coach over the last 14 years — to be the coach of the winningest football program in the country, I think that’s a good match. I really do.”

“He knew he could come in here and make a difference,” Valdosta athletic director Warren Weeks said. “You could see it in his presentation, and the way he talks to you. Rick Tomberlin is a real guy, a down-to-earth guy.”

While admitting it will be hard to leave Washington, where he spent the past 14 years, Tomberlin is excited about the chance to coach the legendary Wildcats.

“There is no other school in Georgia I would leave Washington County for,” said Tomberlin. “The things I hold most dear in life are my marriage to my wife, Angela, and the birth of our daughter (Tiffany). The third thing is being offered and accepting the job as the football coach at Valdosta.”

Tomberlin hopes to be in Valdosta, starting to build the 2006 Wildcats, by March 1. Spring practice will probably be held in May.

The Valdosta football team is currently going through morning workouts, despite not having a head coach in place. Assistant coaches are leading the workouts.





Stanton admitted that the three state championship rings Tomberlin owns played a big part in his hiring.

“I think any four of those guys could have come in and done an outstanding job. But I think Rick Tomberlin has all the tools, that arsenal to bring, and really take our program to the next level, where we want it to be.”

Of the finalists, Dublin’s Roger Holmes and Walton’s Ed Dudley have not won a state title. Sean Callahan of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood has won two.

Stanton also admitted the fact Tomberlin had coached and won in Georgia helped his case a lot, too.

“He’s a Georgia coach, so he knows what Georgia football is all about,” Stanton said. “He’s competed at the AAA level, but I know, from my past experiences, that there are some good athletes at the AAA level, when you start talking about LaGrange and Carrollton and those schools. He competed at a high level in Georgia at Washington County.”





After Callahan found out about Tomberlin’s hiring, he complimented Valdosta on their decision.

“I think they got a good one,” Callahan told The St. Petersburg Times on Monday.

Callahan had been hoping to get the job, but sadly, the death of an Armwood player last weekend made him decide he needed to stay where he was.

“I called my principal at about 5:00 (Monday night), and told her that if the position is offered, that I wouldn’t be taking it in light of what has happened with (the player’s death),” Callahan said. “It was very clear that I couldn’t leave Armwood at this time.”