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Savannah Country Day crossed state lines this week with its hiring of John Mohring as the Hornets’ head football coach. Mohring comes to Savannah from Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers, FL where he served as the Head Coach this season, and Defensive Coordinator before that. As a coach at his alma mater, his teams advanced to the Florida Class 3A Elite Eight in 2018 and 2019. Bishop Verot finished 6-5 last year in Mohring’s first year as the head coach.

A four-year starter and team captain in the early 2000’s at Georgia Southern, Mohring played for the Tampa Bay Bucs among other NFL teams before beginning his coaching career. He will officially begin at SCDS on June 7.

"It's an honor to be named Head Football Coach at Savannah Country Day,” Mohring said in a school-issued press release. “I'm looking forward to the upcoming season, and I'm eager to share the knowledge I've gained throughout the years as an athlete, coach, and educator. I'm also looking forward to building relationships and working side-by-side with the administration, faculty, and parents.”

Mohring takes over a Hornet football program that has gone through uncommon instability at the coaching level starting with the departure of Dennis Coyle after his 10-year stint in May 2018.

Jim Collis, now the school’s Athletic Director, took over and coached SCDS in 2019 and 2020. The Hornets posted a 10-1 record and won the school's first region title since 1980 in his first year before finishing at 3-6 last year.

In January, Collis named his assistant, Tyler Ward, as his replacement on the sidelines. Before he ever coached a game, Ward and SCDS parted ways on April 29 in an unexpected turn of events.

“I ended up having to make a decision that was best for my family,” Ward said in a text message to the Prep Sports Report this week.

Collis and SCDS Head of School Kef Wilson have stated that Ward resigned in order to be closer to his fiancée in Alabama. Still, the timing of Ward’s departure -- just a few months after his accepting the job -- was curious to many.

“While the timing was not great,” Wilson wrote in an email to PSR. “We accepted his resignation. 

“Athletic Director Jim Collis informed the football team of Coach Ward's decision on April 29 and immediately began a search for a new head football coach.”

Mohring will bring his running backs coach Joey Blackmore with him to Savannah, and the entirety of the 2021 staff will be his to build. After coming to SCDS with Collis and Ward in 2019, defensive assistant Nic Keene is now at New Hampstead High School.

Mohring and wife Misa have a son, Bear, who is 18-months old.

“I’ve accepted a new position in Georgia -- one that will benefit my young family and ultimately help to move my career forward,” said Mohring (@CoachMohring) in a May 25 tweet. “I will miss the boys, my coaches and all the faculty and staff. It is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in my young career,” he told the Fort Myers News-Press.

SCDS returns star senior quarterback Barry Kleinpeter and dual-threat athlete Kenny Odom among others. Kleinpeter has thrown for nearly 5,500 yards in his career and tallied 2,203 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior in 2020.

Mohring and his staff are expected to meet with the SCDS community early in June before hosting the program’s annual youth football clinic beginning June 14. 

Follow Travis Jaudon on Twitter and Instagram @JaudonSports and contact him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.

Optim Orthopedics supports the Prep Sports Report and Savannah Country Day School athletics.  Dr. Thomas Alexander is the team doctor for Savannah Country Day. Remember. Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!