Coaching carousel: Abernathy has been juggling jobs and family at Tattnall, but life becomes a bit easier as he steps down as head football coach
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
John Abernathy didn’t sleep much Thursday night.
After all, it was his final night as Tattnall’s head football coach.
The school announced to parents and students in a Friday afternoon email that Abernathy was stepping down as the Trojans’ head football coach after five seasons and a 32-24 record.
“I’m going to sleep just fine tonight,” Abernathy said Friday afternoon.
The next coach will be Tattnall’s ninth, and fourth since Barney Hester left after the 2012 season.
“Just trying to sit back and decide what’s best for me and what’s best for Tattnall,” Abernathy said not long after the announcement and team meeting. “I was the high school and middle school principal, and head football coach. Being both of those was a lot.”
Not to mention being daddy to 3 year old skip and 1 year old Miller, and husband to Haley.
“I needed to choose one of those jobs. My ultimate goal is to be a headmaster. Career- pathwise, it makes sense to give up football. And I think our players deserve somebody who can give 100 percent to the football program.”
Abernathy sat down with Tattnall head of school Travis Absher, himself a longtime coach before moving into administration, earlier this week to discuss his thoughts and plan.
“I’d like to lay out all our options and look at what’s best for me, what’s best for Tattnall, and try to figure out what that looks like,” Abernathy said the tone of the first meeting was. “Ultimately, I love the school, and we can do better by having one person focus on the principal job and one person focus on the football job.
“When I told him, he said, ‘Now, this is you, it’s your decision?’ This is completely my decision.”
Absher suggested taking a couple days. Abernathy talked more with his wife, as well as friend and Chris Barbee (Piedmont Church).
Abernathy is a 2012 graduate of Mount de Sales and 2016 Mercer gradaute, whose coaching career started as a community coach at Tattnall while finishing up Masters work at Mercer. He spent there years on the Jones County staff before moving to Tattnall. He assumed the role of dean of students in his second year at Tattnall, for two years, and started in 2022-23 in the double principal role.
He leaves as Tattnall’s second-winningest coach. Of course, Abernathy is still 274 wins behind Hester, who spent 31 seasons leading the Trojans.
“It’s been quick, but obviously it’s been on my mind for quite awhile,” Abernathy said. “I’m starting a doctoral program in the summer, and I don’t think I can be the head football coach, principal, and have my family and get a doctorate.
“It’s just the perfect transition year. It’s hard. It’s been a tough day. Telling the kids was really difficult. Telling my coaches was really difficult.
“But I feel like I’m doing right by the kids by stepping aside so somebody can really focus on them. It’s going to be an adjustment for sure, and I know I’ll miss it. But I know at the end of the day, I’ve made the right decision.”