Former Coffee High School head football coach Ken Eldridge is returning to the head coaching ranks. Coach Eldridge, who last served as a head coach in 2015 at Swainsboro High, has been named the head football coach of the Berrien County Rebels.
Eldridge takes over for Tim Alligood, who led the Rebels to a 7-5 mark last season and the school’s first playoff win in 31 years. Eldridge was Berrien’s quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator last season.
The Berrien County Touchdown Club announced Eldridge’s promotion on its Facebook page last week. In the post, Eldridge stated, “I am meeting with the team on Tuesday and we are going to hit the ground running this spring and summer to prepare for the upcoming season.” He added that “We are ready to build on that success and make it a norm for this community.”
The Rebels had a good five-year run from 1991-1995 under head coaches Brent Miller (’91-’94) and Jay Andrews (’95) when they posted consecutive winning seasons. Before Alligood arrived, Berrien only had one .500 season since 1995, which came in 2009 under Ryan Branch. In 2014, the Rebels made the playoffs during Ed Pilcher’s second year (4-7) and again in 2017 during Bill Cribb’s second year (also 4-7). Alligood followed Cribb and went 5-5 in 2018. After three sub-.500 seasons, the Rebels went 7-5 last year, finished second in the region, and won a playoff game.
From 2008-2011, Eldridge was head coach of the Coffee Trojans. He was Swainsboro High’s head coach from 2013-2015. During his career, Eldridge has made the playoffs four times — two each at Coffee and Swainsboro. His best season came in 2008 when his Trojans went 9-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. Overall, Eldridge is 33-44 in his head coaching career.
The Georgia High School Football Historians Association contributed to this report.