Former Lowell football coach returning to sidelines in Georgia

Former Lowell High School football coach Noel Dean has taken a job coaching at Tift County High School in Tifton, Ga..

"I just missed the relationships with kids," Dean said. "Come to find out I just liked coaching. I just miss it, I want to do it again."

Dean retired in 2018 at Lowell after 22 years as head coach, where he helped lead the Red Arrows to state championships in 2002, 2004 and 2009, as well as three state runner-up finishes and 245 victories.

"The people reaching out from Lowell made me really feel valued," Dean said about messages he has received since his hiring was announced. "It made me feel really good about what we did. I don't know what other profession has people reach out to you like the Lowell people did. It means a lot."

Under Dean, the Red Arrows won 13 district titles, nine regional titles and made nine trips to the state semifinals.

“Coach Dean understands hard work, success, and what it means to be a Blue Devil,” Tift County principal Chad Stone said. “I am eager to see him work with our student athletes and develop a football program that makes us better today than yesterday.”

Southern Georgia, where Dean is now coaching, is a hot bed for high school football.

"This is it," Dean said. "This is, some would say the best public high school football region in the nation and there is a lot of people in this league and coaches but the junior version of that was moving to Lowell and they hadn't won a lot of games and going up against George Barcheski, Jack VerDuin, Stan Jesky, Tim McGee so we did the same thing at Lowell, we overcame it."