Former Stockbridge head coach and Georgia Southern University assistant, Kevin Whitley, has been named the head football coach at Northgate.
“I am definitely excited to get to high school, while there are some differences in the game, I am just excited to get back to the Atlanta area,” said Whitley. “Northgate has been a pretty solid program through the years, I have competed against them a number of times, I am excited to get to work with the community,” he added.
Whitley has spent the last five years as the cornerbacks coach with Georgia Southern and spent 10 years before leading the Stockbridge football team as their head coach.
The Decatur-native attended Georgia Southern University from 1988-1991 and was a four-year starter and two-time national champion on the school’s football team during his time as an Eagle. In his senior season in 1991, Whitley was an honorable mention for All-America honors as he totaled 48 tackles and two interceptions.
The former defensive back’s playing experience reached the next level when he signed a free-agent deal with the New England Patriots in 1992 before playing three seasons in the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts. He was named Rookie of the Year for Toronto after the 1993 seasons.
After his playing days, Whitley didn’t get his first head coaching opportunity until 2001, when he was named the new head football coach at North Springs. He was on the Spartans staff for two years prior as the defensive coordinator before ultimately getting his chance to run the program.
Whitley spent two seasons at North Springs before being hired at Creekside High School in the same role. He spent five seasons on the Creekside sidelines, coaching First-team All-Pro safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, Eric Berry, during his time with the Seminoles.
Stockbridge l hired Whitley after five seasons at Creekside in 2009, and from there remained with the Tigers for 10 seasons.
Before Whitley was at the helm of the Stockbridge football program, the Tigers had never won a postseason game in their teams history. During his 10 seasons there, Coach Whitley had an impressive record of 99-28, including five region titles, four in a row from 2014-2017.
Whitley took an opening at Georgia Southern as an assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach after turning around the Stockbridge program. He spent five seasons with the Eagles, even serving as the teams interim head coach in 2021 before the hiring of current Georgia Southern head coach, Clay Helton.
Now, after five seasons in the collegiate ranks, Whitley is excited for the move back to high school football, and is ready to get started in the Northgate community.
“I would imagine that they (the community) will see a physical team, a team that plays tough and a team that plays together,” he said.
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