LONDON — Allen Mitchell confirmed Tuesday morning he will not be returning as head coach of the South Laurel football program.
Mitchell informed his players in a meeting at 8 a.m. this morning.
“I took over at a a very difficult time at the end of June and we hit the ground running,” he said. “While we struggled the first year there was great improvement. We were able to capitalize on that and we were one play away from winning six games, which hadn’t been done since 2006. We were also just a couple of plays away from finishing 7-3 so we have improved tremendously.
“The kids I coached were/are awesome individuals and gave everything they had both on the field and in the classroom as we had 27 kids this year that were KHSAA Academic All-Americans,” he added. “So we did things the right way and kept the kids first, I will always cherish the kids and relationships I’ve built the last six years as an assistant and head coach. Whatever direction they decide to go they will have willing and coachable kids to work with.”
Mitchell was spent two seasons as head coach of the Cardinals football program, replacing former coach Jep Irwin, who is now athletic director at South Laurel.”
The Cardinals turned in a 2-8 record under Mitchell in 2022 while finishing with a 5-5 mark this past season. Mitchell finished with a 7-13 record as South Laurel’s head coach.
South Laurel High School’s administration released a statement concerning Mitchell’s departure.
“We thank Coach Mitchell for his hard work and dedication the past two seasons as head coach and previously as an assistant. We will begin the search immediately to find our next head coach. We believe South Laurel is a great school community with the potential to field a very competitive football team.”
