By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The search for LaGrange High’s next football coach has come to a close.

The school’s search committee has decided on a new head coach, although the hiring isn’t official yet.

The final step in the process is for the candidate to be approved by the Troup County Board of Education, and a vote will take place during a school-board meeting on Jan. 16.

If the seven-member school board gives it approval, then LaGrange will officially have a new football coach.

The search for a new coach began when Chuck Gibbs was let go in December following the 2019 season.

This will be LaGrange’s fourth head coach since Steve Pardue’s 17-year tenure ended following the 2010 season.

Donnie Branch was LaGrange’s head coach from 2011 to 2013, and Dialleo Burks led the program from 2014 to 2017.

Gibbs was LaGrange’s coach the past two seasons, and the team went 2-8 in 2018 and 2019.