Flowe hired by King’s Ridge

On Monday, Class A King’s Ridge Christian announced the hiring of two high-profile former head coaches that will join Tigers’ head coach Jeff Pickrin as coordinators this season at the Alpharetta private school. Former Parkview head coach Cecil Flowe, who announced his retirement during the Panthers’ 2013 season, will step in as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach this fall. Flowe led the Parkview to four state titles during his 21 years at the helm and coached the Panthers to a record 46 straight wins, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, and a 197-67 all-time record.

Former LaGrange College head coach Todd Mooney, who also stepped down at the end of the 2013 season, accepted the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching duties at King’s Ridge after leading the LaGrange Panthers for eight seasons.

“As a program we were looking for the best men possible,” said King’s Ridge Christian athletic director Jason Couch. “These guys [Flowe and Mooney] fit that category as experienced coaches with great track records and are also high quality and high character men. We [the King’s Ridge community] are really excited to have both of them with us.”

King’s Ridge will enter just its fifth season as a GHSA program this fall and has posted a 19-21 record in its first four seasons without a postseason appearance. The experience that Flowe and Mooney will bring to the sideline could get the Tigers over the hump this season and Mooney is no stranger to turnarounds. In 2008, Mooney led LaGrange to a remarkable turnaround after posting 0-10 records in each of his first two years as head coach. The 2008 Panthers finished 9-2 and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. The program set 164 records during the breakout year and concluded the best turnaround in NCAA Division III history.

“Todd has coached at such a high level that I think he just wanted to simplify things and just enjoy coaching and invest in the younger generation [of coaches] that is coming behind him,” said Couch. “I think Cecil has been a head coach and program leader before and I think he wants to pour into players and also pour into a relatively young coaching staff.”

The LaGrange offense averaged 32.4 points per game in 2013 under Mooney with an outstanding 358.1 passing yards per game. Flowe, on the other hand, built a defensive legacy in Lilburn, GA. His Panthers shut out 47 opponents and held 124 to single digits in his 21 seasons.