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Brian Allen is returning as Columbia's football coach. (FILE)
Who says you can’t go home again? Brian Allen is back at Columbia.
Allen has been hired as the Tigers new coach pending school board approval, a move he and principal Trey Hosford both confirmed to the Reporter on Monday. It will be Allen’s second stint with the program, replacing Demetric Jackson, who resigned following two seasons after replacing Allen prior to the 2021 campaign.
When it came down to making a decision, it was one Allen couldn’t pass up. Allen, who will leave his job at New Millennium Building Solutions, says he’s missed coaching at his alma mater a lot over the past two years, even more so this fall.
Once Jackson stepped down and the job suddenly opened up, it was an opportunity Allen couldn’t pass up applying for it. As he put it, it was “now or never.”
“I definitely (missed it) this past season more than I did the first year,” Allen said. “This past year was tough being away from it. I listened to every game on the radio on Friday nights and I always stayed up to date with what was going on. This year was tough being away from it and I didn’t know if there would be an opportunity to be back or have a chance to come back. It worked its way out that it did. This past year was tough, I can assure you of that.
“At the end of the day it worked out. I’m excited to be back doing it.”
Hosford said about 15 people applied for the job but none stood out more than Allen, who will also coach the boys weightlifting team again. Allen’s resume speaks for itself in the 10 years he was at Columbia, posting an 86-33 record with playoff appearances in all 10 of his seasons during his first stint.
Columbia made it to the state semifinals under Allen in 2015 — the first time since 2003 — and had two more trips to the regional finals in 2012 and 2020. His teams won at least one playoff game in eight of his 10 seasons.
His 86 victories rank third all-time at Columbia behind Bobby Simmons (113) and Danny Green (109). Allen has also never lost to rival Suwannee, going 8-0 before the series was paused after the 2018 season.
“He has years of experience as a head coach, years with experience at CHS and he’s had impact on our school and our community,” Hosford said. “He’s had proven success at Columbia. All those factors together separated him.”
With Allen’s return comes the expectation of success, which was consistent when he was head coach as the Tigers won 10 games or more four times, including in 2012 and 2015. Aside from the covid-19 shortened-season in 2020, Columbia never won fewer than seven games under Allen.
Deep playoff runs were always the expectation for Allen, who eyes plenty more. It may be a bit easier now too, as the FHSAA split the suburban schools from the metro schools prior to this season, which benefitted the Tigers as they reached the state semifinals.
No longer can the Jacksonville schools be a thorn in Columbia’s side like they were at times during Allen’s first 10 seasons.
“I think the sky’s the limit,” said Allen, who added he’ll quickly get to work on putting a coaching staff together. “You know I’m a competitor, an extreme competitor…I know it’s a different path than it ever was in those 10 seasons that I was there. It’s going to be interesting. I think we can do all the things we’ve done before and beyond. My goal in coming back is to win a championship. That’s always been the goal. That’s definitely the one I have in mind right now, for us to win one.”
Hosford says one thing in particular stood out when speaking with Allen in the past couple of weeks. It was evident to Hosford that Allen deeply missed coaching at Columbia.
Allen wanted to be back, and for the foreseeable future.
“I feel like he’s at peace knowing he’s going to be coaching football at CHS,” Hosford said. “It stood out to me in the last week how much he missed coaching and how much he missed Columbia High School and being a part of it.”
Allen has also shown an ability to develop talent at Columbia, evident by his stellar record. When Allen resigned after the 2020 season, he said about 60 players he coached went on to sign with colleges, none bigger than All-American offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (Ole Miss) in 2013.
Tunsil, along with defensive back Trey Marshall (Florida State), made it to the NFL after playing for Allen at Columbia. Developing kids into young men was always a highlight for Allen, whether it was that duo making it to the NFL or seeing others enter the workforce alongside him at New Millennium to provide for their own families.
Being able to have an impact on kids again is something Allen is also excited for in his return. He says plans to do so for as long as he can too, while hopefully bringing home Columbia’s first state title since 1967.
“Until I can’t. Until I physically can’t,” Allen said. “As long as I’m healthy, I don’t have a timeline where I don’t want to do it. I think keeping the younger guys around you fresh with your staff, as long as that energy is there and excitement is there, I don’t put a time on it. I know that I’ve got a few more years to put some things in the history books as well, so I’ve definitely looked at that. And there are things that can be done. I want to get a championship, more than anything. I want to get a championship with them. This town definitely deserves it.”