The Lauderdale County School Board officially approved the hiring of Kevin Gandy as the new head football coach at Northeast Lauderdale High School during its regular board meeting Thursday.

The school board also approved the hiring of Jordan Payne as the new head coach of the Southeast Lauderdale High School boys basketball team. Payne is currently in his third year serving as assistant coach of the Southeast Tigers.

“I do want to thank everyone. It is a grand opportunity to be the next head football coach at Northeast,” Gandy told board members after the approval. “I have a grand vision for Northeast and that is to be very, very competitive year in and year out, to display sportsmanship on and off the field, to excel … academically in the classroom. We want our students to be MHSAA academic leaders. We want our athletes to be productive citizens on and off the field and in the community.”

A 2002 graduate of Wayne County High School, Gandy attended Alcorn State University and began his coaching career in 2007 as defensive coordinator for his high school alma mater. He spent 14 years with the Wayne County team before joining Meridian High School’s Wildcats football team as an assistant coach in July 2021.

Of course, as head football coach, he wants his team to win, Gandy said. But he also wants his student athletes to grow into productive citizens, and he is a big supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization.

“We want to be competitive. Of course, we want to win. That’s what we want to do. That’s what my job is to do,” Gandy said. “But, not only that, I’m very big in the FCA, and I want these young men to value what our Lord and Savior does for us each and every day.”

School board president Kelvin Jackson welcomed Gandy to the district.

“We thank you for heeding the call. We thank you for answering the call, and we welcome you and your family to our family,” Jackson said.

Payne, a native of Heidelberg, will take over as head coach of the Southeast boys basketball team from coach Centel Truman, who has been named the new assistant principal at Southeast Elementary School. The school board, during last month’s meeting, approved hiring current elementary Assistant Principal Steven Holifield as the school’s new head principal following the retirement of current head Principal Tanya Irby at the end of the school year.

Kameron Burnham, Southeast High’s assistant principal, said the school is excited about Payne being named head coach after working as an assistant coach for the past three years.

“Since day one, he’s been a leader on the court with coach Truman,” Burnham said. “I think it’s going to be a phenomenal transition. We are so excited. We left the applications open for a couple of weeks. Had a few applicants. We went through the process, and coach Payne just wowed us. He is going to be great, and we are really excited.”

Payne, who also serves as the head track coach, said his new position should be a natural transition for the players on the team.

“This transition hasn’t be easy for me over the last three years,” he said. “You work as an assistant, but you prepare to be a head (coach). I think this happened one year earlier than we expected, but, again, when you prepare for it, it’s an easy transition for you.”

Payne said his dedication to the Southeast team and players is undeniable.

“You won’t find anybody more dedicated, and the reason I am so dedicated to children is because I used to be an knucklehead,” he said. “I used to be a knucklehead every day through the school, just trying to find something mischievous to do. And Coach Ted Williams, my high school coach, took a chance on me.”

He said his high school coach’s belief in him back then meant a great deal to him and inspired him to cut out some of his mischievous ways and set him on a path to be an educator and coach.

“I deal with those kids on an everyday basis, so I kind of understand them and I speak the same language, so I do understand I have to be on their level sometimes,” Payne said. “So, when I say I’m dedicated, I’m all in.”