By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
It didn’t take long for Southside to fill its recently created coaching vacancy as the school looked into its past to find its leader of the future by rehiring Dewayne Kellum.
After third-year football coach David Hines decided to head back west and accept a coaching position at Cherokee High School, the Seahawks reached out to his predecessor who was more than willing to listen.
On Monday morning Southside made the move official, which was first reported by WCTI12.com, and Kellum received a call bearing the good news at 1:17 p.m.
“I’m excited,” Kellum said. “I’m hoping things will be the same. These kids were younger when I left so there will be a transition period. They will have to get used to some new rules and a new offense and defense, but you can’t change a whole lot about football. It’s all about fundamentals, defense, don’t turn it over and help the other team, and don’t beat yourself.”
Kellum, Southside’s all-time wins leader, was the first coach in the school’s history as he led the program from 2000-06 before stepping down.
The popular Seahawks’ skipper led his program to two appearances in 1-A state title games, with the first coming in 2002 and the second in 2004.
With Hines’ departure being so close to the first official day of practice on Aug. 2, the school was a bit behind the eightball, but Southside scored a touchdown when it was able to haul in a coach of Kellum’s caliber.
Southside athletic director Sean White said the school was thrilled to have Kellum back.
“We are really excited. He’s going to bring a lot of experience, especially playoff and championship experience,” said White via cell phone from a coaching clinic in Greensboro. “I think he will hit the ground running. I know it’s only about a week or so before the first practice but I think he’ll come in and pick right up where he left off before and do well.”
Southside interviewed a small group of local candidates for the job, but White said the deciding factor was Kellum’s history of success with the school.
“We reached out to (Kellum) and a couple of others that we knew would be interested,” White said. “We talked to him and other local coaches, plus we took e-mails and calls from people who were interested, but Dewayne was the one who stood out as far as experience at the high school level. Also, where the program was before he left had a lot to do with it too.
“There were some other candidates who were highly qualified. We just thought that with Dewayne Being from the area it would be good for him to come in and finish his career with Southside.”
Kellum will be installing the wing-T offense, which helped guide the school to multiple conference championships and prolonged playoff runs.
“It’s the one that I know the best,” Kellum said. “But it really doesn’t matter. People are like ‘Oh, you run an old-timey offense’ but when you look around our state in the east most of your successful coaches are like a Walt Davis or Raymond Cobb who runs a wishbone. It’s just like basketball: It doesn’t matter what kind of system you run as long as your kids understand it.
“People talk about the wildcat, the spread and all that, but all that is, is the old single wing from the ‘50s. Everybody is like ‘Oh it’s a new offense.’ It ain’t new, it’s old school.”
While Kellum hasn’t officially rounded out his staff yet, he will be the head coach/offensive coordinator while Jeff Carrow is the leading candidate for the defensive coordinator position.
Kellum said that the Southside defense will be more versatile than his previous tenure.
“We are probably going to be a 4-3, 3-5 defense. We will be a little flexible with it,” Kellum said. “Talking to Jeff Carrow, that’s what we are real comfortable with. That’s what Dale Cole has run the last few years at Southside. While I was at P.S. Jones I played a 3-5 a lot and learned a lot about it. The kids really took to it. .. We have it for all the Williamston’s of the world.”
Kellum left Southside in 2006 and for the past three seasons has accepted multiple coaching with positions at P.S. Jones and this past year was the school’s athletic director.
Kellum will be teaching strength and conditioning at Southside, while coaching some P.E. classes. Kellum said he enjoyed his time at P.S. Jones.
“I’m not leaving P.S. Jones because I was not happy,” Kellum said. “All the staff, teachers and everybody I worked with was great, they treated me like gold. They were great people and it’s a great school.”
Kellum has not formally reintroduced himself to the team, but said that there is a planned meeting for Monday at 7 a.m. where he will meet the players.