Kevin Smith has been head football coach and athletics director at Perry since early January of 2017.

Suddenly, he is the most tenured high school football coach in Houston County.

That became the case Thursday evening with surprising news in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Kevin Kinsler, his former boss, was retiring at Northside.

Kinsler had said in recent years, as speculation grew for him and any other head coach approaching 30 years in the state education – and pension – system that he would know when it was time.

“I’ve prayed about it a lot, even after the end of last season, and it’s something that God has given me a peace about,’’ Kinsler told the AJC in a story posted on its website a little after 7 p.m. “I just feel it’s the right time as far as Northside is concerned.’’

Kinsler told the paper he may not be done coaching, but had no specific plans or time frame.

Kinsler coached both of his sons at Northside, Tyler and Kolby. Tyler has been on the staff for several years.

Smith has tenure in the county by about seven weeks, Ryan Crawford being named after that as head coach at Houston County. Both were colleagues at Houston County, and both were part of Kinsler’s staff at Northside.

Kinsler succeeded Conrad Nix, who announced his retirement days into the new 2010 at the age of 64, six years older than Kinsler. Current Houston County superintendent Mark Scott was the Northside principal at the time.

Nix all but appointed Kinsler as his successor, and it became official by the school board about a week later.

Kinsler leaves with a 100-28 record, a 78.13 winning percentage. That 100th win came against Baldwin, 33-28 on Sept. 20, the Eagles’ last win of the year.

They lost the final five of the season, including a 39-0 defeat against Warner Robins, Northside’s worst in that rivalry’s history. Shutout losses to Coffee and Lee County followed.

The five-game losing streak? Northside hadn’t lost five in a season – which usually included a few playoff games – since 1996 when Nix’s second team upon returning went 6-5.

Northside hadn’t lost five straight in a season since 1964 when the Eagles finished 1-8-1 under Matt Arthur and lost the final five games, to Willingham (46-7), Columbus (25-0), Perry (13-7), Valdosta (40-13), and Warner Robins (25-6).

The Eagles lost by 9.10 points a game in 2019, the fourth-largest total in program history. The 18.3 points a game scored is the lowest since 1963.

Northside finished 3-7, its worst mark since 1991, and missed the playoffs for the first time since that same year.

Kinsler departs having gone 6-4 against Warner Robins, 7-3 against Houston County, 0-2 against Peach County, 3-3 against Jones County, 3-4 against Lee County, among others.

Kinsler’s only losing records are against Lee County, Peach County, Tucker (2-3), Valdosta (1-3), and Ware County 2-3).

Kinsler’s decision was considered a surprise in the Central Georgia and state coaching world, most figuring a 3-7 season and final-game loss to Houston County being the last way he would go out. And how the Eagles turned a mediocre regular season in 2018 into a state runner-up finish was a sign Kinsler and that staff still had plenty of juice.

But the Eagles’ regular-season win total had dropped four straight years, from three straight 9-1s from 2013-15 to 8-2, 7-3, 5-5, and 3-7.

The 2018 year was an odd one.

Northside struggled to a 5-5 regular-season mark, 2-2 in Region 1-6A, but went on a stunning playoff run to the Class 6A championship game, in which its offense struggled in a 14-0 loss to region rival Lee County.

The Trojans had a dominant year, but Northside provided the two stiffest test of the year, losing 24-7 in the regular-season meeting.

Smith talked of stability when he took over at Perry, citing having worked with Conrad Nix and Kinsler as an example of what it brought.

And Northside has been a poster child for stability.

Kinsler’s final staff had Northside grads Kelvin McDavis, Tyler Kinsler, Lee Pope, Dyron Adams, and Reggie Thorpe. Of the 11 primary assistants dealing with the varsity program, the average stint at Northside is 10.5 years.

Offensive coordinator Chad Alligood is on his third stint at Northside, returning as offensive coordinator after two years as head coach at Washington-Wilkes. Mark Estes and Reggie Tharpe, according to the team website, are in their 15th season with the Eagles. Daniel Sayles and Mark Simon are in their 11th year at Northside, Simon also the head boys basketball coach.

Smith became Perry’s seventh head coach since 2000 when he took over. Conrad Nix was in his second stint at Northside that year, and stayed through the 2009 season when his former quarterback and longtime assistant Kinsler was hired to take over.

The Eagles recorded a 10-0 regular season in Kinsler’s first year.

And his second.

And his third.

Kinsler’s first regular-season loss came in the ninth game of his fourth season, 28-18 to Warner Robins. It was also the first region loss under Kinsler.

The first time Northside lost more than two games with Kinsler in charge was in his seventh season when the Eagles went 11-3, reaching the Class 6A semifinals in the first year of the sixth classification in Georgia.

That was two years after Northside, with a quarterback named Tobias Oliver finding out days before the season opener that he was starting, went 14-1 and beat Mays 25-18 for the Class 5A state title. Northside’s defense, a program staple, held seven opponents – including two playoff foes – to single digits, with three shutouts.

Northside was part of arguably one of the five toughest regions, of any classification, in the state the past four years. In that span, Region 1-6A accounted for last year’s state champ and runner-up, the 2018 champ and runner-up (Lee County and Coffee), the 2017 champ (Valdosta) and a semifinalist (Northside).

“I just want to take a step back and catch my breath because I’ve been going non-stop for 36 years,” Kinsler told the AJC. “I’m feeling excited about new possibilities but also melancholy when I think of the great memories I’ve had. I’ve had a wonderful career here.’’