After leading Kemper County High School to its first state championship in football this past November, Wildcats’ head coach Chris Jones’ name has surfaced as a candidate for the vacant Starkville High School head coaching job.

Jones has compiled a 46-12 record throughout his four years in DeKalb. A year before his arrival, the Wildcats endured a 1-10 season. Jones said although he and Starkville have been in contact, no official offer has been made at the time.

“It’s all speculation and rumor right now,” Jones, 34, said. “Some of it is true, that I have been in contact and that I’m a candidate and all of that good stuff, but at the end of the day, the job hasn’t been offered to me yet. If it does, then I guess we’ll go from there. Right now I’m still at Kemper County, so, until I get another job or offer, I guess we’ll have a different conversation. But yes, it is true that I am a candidate and I’ve been contacted, but, like I said, we’ll see how it works out.” 

Ricky Woods resigned from his head coaching position at Starkville in November 2016 and was named South Panola High School’s head coach later in the year.