New Brookwood coach seeks to build on strong 2024 finish
With Chad Nighbert now at the helm, replacing alumnus Philip Jones, Brookwood is looking to reignite a program once familiar with a higher level of success. In January, Nighbert became the school’s fifth head coach in 43 years.
A first-time head coach, Nighbert brings 25 years of experience at Georgia high schools, almost entirely as a defensive coordinator. He came to Brookwood in 2023 from Colquitt County. His previous stops were at Effingham County, Savannah, Southeast Bulloch, Screven County and Jones County.
Nighbert grew up in Germany and came to Georgia to play linebacker at Georgia Southern, where he became an All-America linebacker. Nighbert is the first Brookwood head coach who is not a former Brookwood player since GACA Hall of Famer Dave Hunter retired in 2001.
This past year, Nighbert was Brookwood’s head coach in an interim capacity three weeks into the season after Jones informed the administration he needed to step back for medical reasons.
The team responded almost immediately, winning six straight games following a loss to North Gwinnett. After that game, Nighbert addressed the players with a prediction — they would win the next six and make a playoff run. That was a bold statement for a 1-3 team coming off a 4-6 finish.
“I saw how disappointed the kids were,” Nighbert said. “We played so hard. I just knew that whatever I was going to say at that moment that it was going to produce some kind of spark, and I knew that we were going to be a much better team because of it.”
He says he and the staff knew they had a good team and didn’t want the season wasted. They needed to find a way to get on track.
As a coordinator, Nighbert felt his influence had limits. He called it “parameters.” But in stepping into the top role, he knew he had to go beyond them, trusting that the players and staff would follow.
“I held kids accountable, on a different level,” Nighbert said. “Once I was able to be named head coach for the rest of that year, I felt like I could make a couple of the changes that I wanted to make.”
One of those changes was reorganizing practices, slowing them down, to ensure players had time to fully grasp what was being asked of them. The adjustments paid off. During the six-game streak, Brookwood’s defense allowed just over 16 points per game - the best stretch of defense since Nighbert’s arrival. Brookwood’s young 2023 team allowed 37.9 points per game, causing it to miss the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
In the final game of the 2024 regular season, Brookwood beat Norcross, a 14-point favorite in the Maxwell Ratings, 25-13 to earn a home playoff game in the first round. It was Brookwood’s first victory at Norcross since 1989, covering the five previous meetings. Brayden Tyson, a sophomore running back, rushed for 299 yards.
One might expect the dual roles of head coach and defensive coordinator to stretch a coach thin, but under Nighbert, things improved.
Jones’ departure was deeply felt by the team, players and the broader community, but they carried his message with them.
“He’s a person who loves the athletes and players that he has and the coaches on our staff,” Nighbert said of Jones. “We were tight knit.”
Now, Nighbert enters his first full offseason as the guy in charge, setting the parameters for others. His first major task? Hiring his coordinators.
Over the course of a month, Nighbert reviewed more than 80 applicants. With 25 years in coaching, Nighbert had many former colleagues throw their names in. But Nighbert stayed focused.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about where I’ve been and who I know,” Nighbert said. “It’s about these kids and what’s best for these kids.”
Nighbert promoted from his staff. Lance Fendley is the offensive coordinator. Christopher Zellner is the defensive coordinator. Both were familiar with the players and the system, but this wasn’t about loyalty.
“If you’re better than this guy that I have, then I’m going to hire you,” Nighbert said about his approach during the coaching search. “But none of them that I interviewed did I feel like would be better for this team than the two that I hired.”
Under Jones, Brookwood won two region titles and made the playoffs eight times in 10 seasons but had lost nine of its previous 14 games when Nighbert took over. The program’s tradition is still strong. The Broncos won state titles in 1996 and 2010 and were a state runners-up in 2002 and 2005.
The current team has a young, talented roster, with 18 players holding Division I offers.
Zayden Walters (28+ offers) is expected to anchor the offensive line, transitioning from tackle to the interior, while also contributing on defense.
On defense, Kris Brinson (37+ offers) and Damyon Pearson (23+ offers) lead the secondary. Brinson, who stands nearly 6-foot-3, switched from wide receiver to cornerback after his sophomore season. Pearson is a versatile, do-it-all defender.
Offensively, all eyes are on Tyson. The junior rushed for 2,123 yards and 26 touchdowns on 209 carries, averaging more than 10 yards per carry, in the regular season. At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, Tyson is built like a bell cow and plays like one. His is a son of former Georgia and NFL defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson.
“This last year as a sophomore, he became a really good leader on the field,” Nighbert said of Tyson. “We won some games, literally, because we just trusted him, and he put us on his back and just carried us there.”
Nighbert says when he hits the sideline this season, he’ll be the same person that he’s always been. He plans to continue holding his players to the “Brookwood Standard” in the classroom, around the community and on the field.
And when it’s time to touch that horseshoe, he’ll be ready to kick the season off.
Brookwood’s 2025 schedule
8/16 Houston County (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
8/22 Shiloh
8/29 at South Gwinnett
9/12 North Gwinnett
9/19 at Berkmar
9/26 at Parkview
10/03 at Meadowcreek
10/17 Peachtree Ridge
10/24 at Duluth
10/31 Norcross