Napier taking over as LaGrange High’s football coach

Published 12:51 am Saturday, January 11, 2020

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Matt Napier, after 15 seasons as Callaway High’s offensive coordinator, is set to move across town to become the new head football coach at LaGrange High.

It won’t be official until Napier is approved during Thursday’s meeting of the Troup County Board of Education.

Once the seven-member school board gives its approval, Napier will officially be the Grangers’ new coach.

Napier takes over from Chuck Gibbs, who departed after two seasons as LaGrange’s head coach following two 2-8 seasons.

Napier joined the Callaway staff in 2005 as the offensive coordinator for head coach Pete Wiggins.

The Cavaliers have been in the state playoffs every year since 2006, and they’ve won at least one playoff game all but once since 2008.

Since 2013 the Cavaliers have appeared in the state semifinals four times, and they won 57 games over the past five years.

The Cavaliers went 12-2 last season, and they had one of the state’s highest-scoring offenses, averaging more than 40 points per game.

Napier takes over a program that has struggled of late.

The Grangers were the state’s most successful Class AAAA team in the 2000s when they won three state titles and made two other trips to the semifinals.

LaGrange High’s most recent winning season was in 2009, though, and the team has only won six games over the past four years.

Napier will be LaGrange’s fourth head coach since Steve Pardue resigned following the 2009 season.