Marietta's McCollum named head coach at Sewanee

Feb. 4—Marietta High School alum Andy McCollum is a head coach again.

The former Middle Tennessee State head coach and longtime Georgia Tech assistant was named the head coach at the Division III University of the South on Friday in Sewanee, Tennessee.

"In the long and storied tradition of Sewanee Athletics, our coaches have always been teachers and educators first, but they are also mentors, advisors, and leaders in our campus community," athletic director John Shackelford said in a release. "In coach Andy McCollum, we have found a walking bear hug that embraces challenges as opportunities, and solves those problems by loving his students harder — with the care of a parent, the steady discipline of a school principal, and the wisdom that comes with a lifetime of experience. The student-athletes who will represent Sewanee on the field will know that the wind is at their back, because Hurricane Andy has landed on the mountain."

McCollum takes over a Sewanee program that was 2-8 a season ago and has not had a winning season since 2000. He replaces Travis Rundle, who resigned after six seasons with the Tigers.

McCollum will continue a long association with Tennessee, having played collegiately at Austin Peay in Clarksville and coached for 14 years at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, including six years at the helm from 1999-2005. McCollum posted a 34-45 record overall and successfully helped transition the Blue Raiders from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Division.

After playing as an FBS independent in 1999 and 2000, McCollum's 2001 squad recorded an 8-3 record in its first season in the Sun Belt Conference and was co-champion of the league.

McCollum said he is looking forward to working with numerous old friends again.

"The opportunity to return to the state of Tennessee to continue developing my long-standing relationships with high school football coaches throughout the area is coming home for me, and I could not get here fast enough," McCollum said in the release.

As excited as McCollum may be, one person who may be even more so is Marietta Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin.

"Born and raised in Marietta, his father, Johnny, was a great athlete at Marietta in the '40s and his mother, Peggy, played on Marietta's first girls state basketball championship team at MHS," Tumlin said in a statement. "(Andy McCollum) was named for my basketball coach at MHS, Andy Anderson, so you can see a Marietta through-and-through athlete honoring the legacy of his city as the village that helped raise him. This would make former (Marietta Daily Journal) publisher (Otis Brumby Jr.) especially proud as happy as a graduate of Sewanee."

McCollum returns to the head-coaching reigns after serving as the chief of staff and senior defensive analyst for two seasons at the University at Buffalo. The 2022 season saw the Bulls pick up a win over Georgia Southern in the Camellia Bowl.

"I am looking forward to representing the University of the South as the head football coach with tremendous energy and enthusiasm in the opportunities the Sewanee culture provides for the student-athlete and the campus community," McCollum said. "Sewanee has an excellent reputation for its tremendous educational, cultural and environmental opportunities. I, and my energetic staff, look forward to expanding the Sewanee football reputation with pride and winning."

McCollum also spent time as the defensive coordinator at Western Carolina University during the 2020 season and 10 seasons on Paul Johnson's staff at Georgia Tech, where he split time coaching the defensive line, linebackers and the secondary. The Yellow Jackets' 2015 defense ranked sixth nationally in fewest first downs allowed and first in the nation in defensive improvement on third down, while the 2018 squad ranked fourth overall in total defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

During McCollum's tenure Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets made it to six bowl games and won two ACC Coastal Division championships.

Prior to his time in Atlanta, McCollum was a linebackers coach at North Carolina State and an advance scout and defensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans.

The first 18 years of McCollum's coaching career included serving assistant roles at Middle Tennessee (1981-88), UTEP (1989-93) and Baylor (1994-98). Amid that run was a three-month stint under Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee in the spring of 1995.

McCollum, a three-year starter at quarterback for Marietta, was the Cobb County Player of the Year in 1976. He was named the North Georgia Athlete of the Year during his senior season in 1977 and named to the Marietta High School Hall of Fame in 2010.

Sewanee's 2023 season will begin with the Tigers facing Maryville College on Sept. 2.