WEST POINT — Oak Hill Academy announced the resignation of head football coach Bill Rosenthal on Thursday night after four years in the position. They also announced the hire of Tom Goode Jr. to replace him.
Rosenthal was named Raiders head coach in 2020 and amassed a 15-27 record, going 0-2 in the playoffs over four seasons at the helm. He resigned due to family health matters, according to the school.
“I would like to thank Coach Rosenthal for laying a foundation of excellence for which Oak Hill football will continue to build from in the years to come,” said Dr. Cathy Davis, head of school at Oak Hill. “He has truly made a tremendous impact on the students he has taught and coached and for that, we are forever grateful. Bill Rosenthal is an elite individual and coach, and we wish him all the best.”
Goode joined the coaching staff in 2023 as an assistant but has several years of experience coaching football at the high school and college levels.
“For the past year I’ve coached under Coach Rosenthal and I think with the quick transition this summer they offered me the position,” Goode told The Dispatch. “I appreciate the opportunity from Dr. Davis and Coach Ferguson and I was excited to step into the role.”
The Oak Hill job has been a difficult one for head coaches. The school hasn’t won a playoff game since 1992, and hasn’t won a district championship since 1990 when the school went on to win its sole state championship. Goode now takes over a group that lost a lot of experience last season, but his knowledge of the team and the school has him excited for the opportunity to lead the Raiders.
“We were kind of a veteran team last year and looking across the roster we’re much younger this year,” he said of losing 12 seniors from the previous season. “The philosophy at this point is building off of toughness and fundamentals, and that’s important at every level from 7th through 12th grade.”
Goode played college football at Southern Miss from 1983-1984 before transferring to Mississippi State, where he played from 1985-1987. After his playing career, he served as a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt in 1990. He was also the offensive coordinator at Texas Southern in 1997. He then became head coach and athletic director at West Point in 1998 and helped start the football program at Regents School of Oxford in 2008. His most recent coaching experience came at the Pop Warner level in Tampa, Florida.
Goode comes from a football family as well. He is named after his father, Tom Goode, a Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer with an accomplished career as a player, coach, and administrator. Goode played for MSU before being drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1961 AFL draft. He played for four seasons in Houston, another four in Miami, and finished his career in 1970 with the Baltimore Colts. His career as a center ended by snapping the game-winning field goal for the Colts in their Super Bowl V victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
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 33 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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
