By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

LUCEDALE — It looks as if the second of five openings for head football coaches in the “Southern Six” is about to close.
According to sources close to the situation on both sides, Biloxi defensive coordinator Eric Collier is set to become the next head coach at George County High School as soon as Thursday night.
Interviews for the opening wrapped up last week, and at least three candidates got e-mails on Monday from GCHS principal Charles Menton stating “thank for your interest in the George County Football program. I wanted to let you know we have offered the job to another candidate.”
Collier has been reported to be atop the list to become the next head coach of the Rebels for close to a month now, and it appears the search is finally over.

Collier came across the Alabama state line for his first job in Mississippi at the beginning of last season, after a long coaching career in the Alabama prep circles. But apparently, Collier still lives in the Mobile area.
Collier accompanied Jamey Dubose in his trip from Lower Alabama to South Mississippi when Dubose took over as head coach at Biloxi. Prior to that, Collier spent one season on then head coach Kane Wommack’s staff at the University of South Alabama as Director of Football Development.
Before that, Collier was a successful head coach at Theodore High where he went 71-41 as the Bobcats head coach over a 10-year span. The Bobcats were especially successful in his last three seasons, winning 33 of the last 38 games under Collier. The 2022 team went 13-1 and reached the Class 6A state semifinals before losing a rematch to eventual state champion Saraland. Theodore won three region titles in his last six years.
He also spent five years with the program as an assistant coach, and was also the head coach at Alma Bryant for four seasons well going 10-30.
Collier’s principal at Theodore during most of his time there leading the Bobcat program was Menton, now the principal at George County High. That fact alone made Collier the top candidate right out of the gate.
By all accounts, Menton was heavily involved in the interview process.
Collier replaces James Ray as GCHS head coach. The move must still be approved by the George County School Board, which has set a meeting for late Thursday afternoon.

Ray stepped down from his post with the Rebels after five seasons in early December and was named as the new Chief Operating Officer/Athletics Director.
He also gave up his role as Athletics coordinator, which he held for the past five months after then COO/AD Chris West was terminated, and veteran Rebels head baseball coach Brandon Davis was named to the AC post as well.
Ray got promoted after recording a mediocre 25-30 record over the past five years that included a 16-15 record in region play. He did, however, lead the Rebels to their first playoff win in 17 years last season when they went on the road to Soso and upset then defending Class 6A state champion West Jones 26-22 in the opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs.

George County made the playoffs three times in Ray’s five years at the helm, but with just one postseason win to show for it. George County is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2015-16.
Ray’s biggest nemesis during his tenure was perennial state Picayune, as he went 0-5 against the Maroon Tide over the past four seasons including a pair of losses this season. After that win over West Jones, Picayune thumped the Rebels 63-40 to end Ray’s last campaign.
If approved, Collier will be the fifth head football coach at GCHS in the past 15 years since Al Jones stepped down after the 2010 season. This marks the longest such stretch with that many head football coaches in program history since a span from 1989-2000 when the Rebels employed six different head football coaches.