By Robert Wilson
Germantown High was looking for a head football coach with championship experience. The Mavericks found their man and he was approved Monday night at the Madison County School Board monthly meeting and was introduced Wednesday at a news conference.
Russell Mitchell is his name and being a part of a championship team in his game.
Mitchell, 38, has been a part of state or national championship team in seven of his 18 seasons of being a coach. Not many coaches in Mississippi can say that.
Mitchell was the quarterback coach at Pearl River Community College in 2004 when they won the national junior championship. He was also the quarterback coach at PRCC for four consecutive state titles from 2003-2006. Mitchell was the offensive coordinator for Picayune High when they won the MHSAA Class 5A state title in 2011 and 2013. He was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach on Oak Grove’s MHSAA Class 6A state title team in 2020. Mitchell comes to Germantown after six seasons at Oak Grove.
Mitchell is a graduate of Picayune High, PRCC and Southern Miss and has a master’s degree from William Carey.
“Coach Mitchell rose to the top on our list of candidates early on in the search process,” Germantown principal Wesley Quick said. “His football knowledge and experiences, along with his coaching success in quality programs are very attractive. His desire to mold young men into winners, both on and off the football field, is both genuine and infectious. We are truly excited about his eagerness and passion to lead Germantown football to be a top competitor in the state.”
“Coach Mitchell has a tremendous work ethic and did a great job for us at Oak Grove,” Oak Grove head coach Drew Causey said. “We want to thank him and his wife for their dedication to our school and football program. We are for excited for him and his family as they begin their new journey at Germantown.”
Mitchell replaces Scott Brown, who was the interim coach for one season. Brown replaced Tim Shramek, who was Germantown’s football coach for the school’s first 10 seasons and left last summer to take a job with the MHSAA.
Germantown has nine returning starters – five on defense and four on offense – from last year’s team, which finished 5-7 overall and 2-5 in MHSAA Class 6A, Region 2, sixth place out of eight teams in the region. The Mavericks graduated two Division I players in running back Branson Robinson, who signed with national champion Georgia, and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, who signed with Ole Miss. Germantown finished 4-5 overall and 0-5 in region play in 2020 and 5-6 and 2-5 in 2019, its first year of Class 6A football. The Mavericks had six consecutive winning seasons in 5A, including winning a school record 10 games in 2014, before making the jump to 6A.
Long time Germantown assistant coach and interim athletic director Gregg Perry was approved Monday night as Germantown’s permanent AD. Perry won two MHSAA state championships in baseball at Madison Central, five state titles in boys golf and three state titles in girls golf at Germantown. He was named the National Federation of High School Coaches Coach of the Year for girls golf in 2015 and boys golf in 2016. Perry is helping with baseball at Germantown this season.
“Coach Gregg Perry is top notch,” Quick said. “He is a man of character and integrity and is the absolute best person to serve as our athletic director. I am ecstatic about the work that Coach Perry has done in his short time as interim athletic director and the Maverick community cannot wait to see our athletic programs continue to achieve and grow under his leadership.”
