North Jackson High School in Stevenson, Alabama, has named Chandler Tygard as its new head football coach. Tygard, who has been an assistant coach at both the college and prep level for the past 10 years, takes over one of the Chattanooga area's most successful programs.
"It's a humbling experience," Tygard said. "This is the sixth-winningest program in the state of Alabama, so that says a lot about their trust in me for this to be my first head coaching job. I've worked for eight different head coaches who helped prepare me for this, so I'm very thankful to them and the administration at North Jackson for this opportunity."
Tygard, 33, began his coaching career as a student assistant at Tennessee and worked his way into a special teams and defensive quality control position for three seasons. He coached the defensive line at the University of the Cumberlands in 2012, then was receivers coach at Missouri Southern State for two years before taking over as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame High School for two seasons.
He was the offensive coordinator at Ravenwood High in Brentwood for the 2017 season and spent last year as the offensive coordinator at Madison (Alabama) Academy, working on Grant Reynolds' staff.
"He fit exactly what we were looking for," said North Jackson assistant principal Josh Harding. "We wanted a good family man that also allows us to hit reset on some things and help us get going in the right direction.
"He's a players' coach, and that's where the game is headed. He'll get us going in that direction. It won't take time with him. I believe Chandler will come in and we will benefit from day one and have success."
Tygard takes over for Mark Rose, who stepped down last month to take over the program at Russell County. In 13 seasons at North Jackson, Rose compiled a 118-33 overall record, including last year's 11-1 finish that included a region title.
"I want to make everything a first-class experience for the kids and anybody who walks into the field house," Tygard said. "Coach Rose did a great job of building some big, strong, mean dudes who can pound people. They've always been known for flying around to the ball and hitting you in the mouth, and we won't change that."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis