East Ridge promotes Barger to head coach
East Ridge High School didn’t have to look far to find a new leader for its football program. Chad Barger, who has been a Pioneers assistant the past three seasons, has been named the head coach.
Barger takes over for Tim James, who earlier this week stepped down to accept a position as the Hamilton County athletic director.
“I’m excited, it’s been a few years since I’ve been a head coach, so I’m ready to get going,” said Barger, who has been the team’s offensive coordinator since joining the staff and has been a head coach for 12 of his 23 years working at the high school level. “I stepped back from being a head coach for a few years to give me more time to watch my kids, but my daughters have graduated from high school now, so I can dedicate the time it takes to run a program.
“Coach James is East Ridge High School football, and I am forever grateful that he brought me here to work with the young men here. I hope to continue to build off the stability and foundation that Coach James established. We will continue to work to build a program that our school, community and county are proud to call their own.”
The Pioneers finished 6-5 each of Barger’s first two seasons as offensive coordinator, reaching the Class 4A playoffs both times, but injuries led to a disappointing 1-9 finish last fall.
Prior to coming to East Ridge, Barger was the head coach at Georgia’s Coahulla Creek for three seasons and also guided Tennessee’s Sequatchie County, Clay County and Cannon County.
Barger has shown a penchant for rebuilding programs. He led Cannon County to its first winning record in 29 years, then took over a Sequatchie County program that had been led by four
coaches in six years and had gone 1-19 the two seasons before he became head coach. The Indians went 6-5 in his first season — their first winning record in eight years — and followed that with their first consecutive winning seasons in 13 years.
“Chad Barger brings a wealth of experience and previous head coaching experience to the program,” James said in a news release. “I am confident he will lead the program with enthusiasm and a work ethic second to none. East Ridge is lucky to have him.”
Pruitt leaves Marion
Dale Pruitt has resigned as head football coach at Marion County High School to take over the program at his alma mater, Plainview in Rainsville, Alabama.
Mark Griffith, director of Marion County Schools, confirmed the move Friday morning, and the Dekalb County (Alabama) Board of Education also announced that it has approved the hiring.
“I appreciate the effort Coach Pruitt put into the program and wish him well with his next job,” Griffith said. “He will meet with his players this afternoon, but he has officially accepted the job in Alabama.
“We will work to name his replacement as soon as possible and hope that whoever that is will continue to improve on the success that Coach Pruitt built.”
Pruitt was in his second stint as Marion’s head coach, compiling a 16-6 record the past two years. He first coached the Warriors from 2004-05, when he led them to a 14-9 record.
He began his head coaching career at Alabama’s Pisgah in 1982, going 18-4 including 10-0 in his second season there. He then took over at Plainview, compiling a 164-64 record in 17 seasons before moving on to Fort Payne, where he was 18-13 in three seasons, then went to Marion for two years before returning to Plainview in 2006.
In his second stint at Plainview, Pruitt’s teams reached the playoffs in all but one of his eight seasons before he left to take over at Albertville in 2014, then Georgia’s Dade County in 2019 before again returning to Marion.
Pruitt’s teams have reached the playoffs 27 times, won 13 region championships and appeared in an Alabama Class 3A state championship game twice. Four times his teams finished the regular season unbeaten.
Marion went 7-4 in 2020 and 9-2 last year, reaching the second round of the Class 2A playoffs both seasons.
Pruitt did not return messages seeking comment.