STARKVILLE — Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District named John Carr as the new head football coach for the Jackets on Monday. Carr arrives from Clinton, where he was the head coach of the Arrows in 2024.
Athletic Director Jay Hopson took over the coaching search when he arrived in Starkville a week ago, and secured Carr’s services within just a few days.
“He’s an outstanding, classy guy, a high character guy,” said Hopson. “Plus, John Carr has an extreme amount of experience. He was a highly successful high school coach in the state of Louisiana at Ouachita, which was a premier power in Louisiana at that time. He has a very gifted and brilliant offensive mind, which means his teams tend to score a lot of points. In his time at Jones Community College, he produced one of the top ten offenses in the nation. He has also coached with Todd Monken, now with the Baltimore Ravens, who this past year had the number one offense in the NFL.”
Carr comes to Starkville with more than 30 years of experience in coaching and administration at the collegiate and high school level. This follows a pattern with recent SOCSD coaching hires where an emphasis is placed on administrative and on-field experience.
“I’m honored to welcome Coach John Carr to the Jacket Family,” SOCSD Superintendent Tony McGee said. “I asked Jay to manage our search for a Head Football Coach, and I think he’s found a seasoned one who will not only continue our winning program but take us to a new level of excellence. It’s a new era for many of our sports, and no one will benefit more than our student-athletes.”
Carr was named Clinton’s head coach in March 2024, replacing Judd Boswell, who spent 12 seasons in charge. Carr only spent one season with the Arrows before coming to Starkville, going 4-6 and missing the playoffs, but registering big upset wins over rival Brandon and his new team, Starkville.
Before going to Clinton, Carr worked as an assistant for several college programs, including Louisiana Monroe, Troy, and Southern Miss. He was also the head coach at Ouachita Parish High School in Louisiana from 2005-2012, where he had a 72-28 record.
Carr has a bachelor of science in health and physical education from Louisiana Tech and a master of education in administration and supervision from the ULM.
“While I worked at the collegiate level, I recruited the entire state of Mississippi, and you get to know programs and schools that stand above the rest,” Carr said of moving to Starkville. “The Starkville position is a head coaching job that really checked all the boxes for me –– an A district, a top-tier program that has won before, a college town. It’s an ideal place for me to come and help kids and get the best chance as a coach to experience the whole process. I’m excited to be here, and I can’t wait to entrench myself in the community and get to know our players and our staff.”
Starkville went 7-5 this past season and lost 35-34 to eventual state champ Tupelo in the second round of the 7A playoffs. The Yellow Jackets have won seven state championships, including two under Jones (2017, 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 30 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 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
