Just one week after the vacancy opened for Starkville’s next head football coach, the Yellow Jackets are set to usher in a new era with a coach from a nearby powerhouse program – West Point’s Brett Morgan.
Multiple sources confirmed to The Dispatch on Thursday that Morgan will take the reins of the Yellow Jackets’ football program after spending 17 years on staff at West Point, including the last two as head coach. During his time pacing the sidelines as a member of the Green Wave, West Point captured eight state championships, including the 2023 and 2024 Class 5A title, the latter of which was accomplished with Morgan as head coach.
Behind their bruising rushing attack and stalwart and aggressive defense, Morgan and the Green Wave looked primed to win their third consecutive championship during the 2025 season, taking an unblemished 13-0 record that featured wins over Starkville (48-15), Tupelo (28-21) and Noxubee County (27-20) to the 2025 Class 5A state championship game, but fell short of the program’s second-ever three-peat in a 31-19 loss to Brookhaven.
Morgan, who leaves West Point with a 24-4 record as head coach, is replacing John Carr at Starkville, who stepped down from his post last week after one season for an opportunity to serve as the Cleveland Browns’ chief of staff in the National Football League. The Jackets finished the season 6-5 overall with a 28-10 loss to Class 7A runner-up Tupelo and now have a new man in charge as they seek to capture their eighth state championship and first since 2022.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
