Dutchtown turns over program to young former star player Glenn

 

New Dutchtown coach Kevon Glynn has known what he wanted to do for a living for a long time.

“I always said as a kid, once I was done playing football and retired, whether it was college or the NFL, I wanted to be a coach,” he said.

The dream came true quicker than he must’ve imagined. At age 24, Glenn is one of the youngest head football coaches in Georgia. He’s so young that his little brother, senior cornerback Jayden Glenn, is one of his new Dutchtown players.

Glenn enters this new phase of his life with hope and purpose and with his best friend – NFL star and former Dutchtown teammate Will Anderson Jr. - rooting him on.

Anderson remains close to the program. On Saturday, he ran the second annual Will Anderson Jr. Youth Football Camp at Dutchtown, working with 100 kids. 

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“My boy Kevon Glenn and I grew up together and played football together, and it is great that he opened up the stadium for us to do this this year,” Anderson told the Henry Herald. “Some of these kids are from this area and hopefully will one day be playing in this stadium.”

Glenn and Anderson go back as far as 2 years old when they were next-door neighbors in Riverdale. Anderson grew up with five older sisters, so he went to Glenn's house when he wanted to get away. Glenn was a year older. 

“So, whether it was riding bikes outside, playing basketball together or football together, he would always play up (with kids older than him) to play on the teams with me,” Glenn said.

To everyone else, it seemed like they were just the two best players on the team, Glenn said, but in reality, “We already knew each other and were close our whole life.”

He moved to Dutchtown a few years after Anderson had moved there. Glenn graduated from Dutchtown in 2019. He was the 2018 GACA Class 5A Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The childhood friends reconnected on the field and took their team to the state quarterfinals in Glenn’s senior year.

Glenn would spend two years at Florida State before transferring to and graduating from Georgia Southern. He would use his extra graduate year to transfer to UConn for one season after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.

Now, back at Dutchtown, some people have questioned why the 24-year-old was able to get the job. The speculation is linked to his connection with Anderson.

“I never take it as a negative if some people think that’s why I got hired,” Glenn said. “I just think, if anything, that’s more kudos to Will.”

Glenn says he’s not worried about what others think factored into him getting the job. He’s focused on what he will do with the opportunity and believes people will come to learn why he’s the right coach for the job.

Dutchtown fired former coach Niketa Battle despite a 25-13 record. Battle told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his removal centered on parents’ complaints about communication and players transferring. Those transfers included all-state quarterback Michael Johnson.

Glenn had just completed a season as an analyst at Georgia Southern when he heard the Dutchtown job had opened. At first, he reached out to friends in the coaching world to recommend the opportunity. 

“I was trying to get them (other coaches) to do it (take the job),” Glenn said. “And once I realized nobody else could, by the grace of God, that’s when it kind of hit me.”

As a Dutchtown alumnus, Glenn understood the school’s culture and operations, giving him a unique edge in the interview process. This knowledge allowed him to position himself in a way that other candidates couldn’t. Dutchtown was 12-1 in Glenn’s senior season and 11-2 in Anderson’s senior season.

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Glenn went through three separate interviews before finally being offered the job on March 7, his birthday, pending board approval. Celebrations came on March 10, when he was officially hired, but Glenn says there’s no time to celebrate because he had to “hit the ground running.”

Even in high school, Glenn called plays for the defense. He says coach Clifford Fedd allowed it, not to appease him because he was the team’s best player and because he knew and trusted Glenn's work in the film room.

Glenn’s first task was to hire his staff. At 24, Glenn had some factors out of his control working against him when trying to find coaches. How do you persuade experienced coaches to work for someone who's only 24? Glenn had a plan.

He would hire only coaches who had college or NFL playing experience.

“I think that was the underrated statement about being so young is that I still know a lot of people in the football world,” Glenn said. “Just because it’s not somebody who’s coached in Georgia high school for 10-20 years, doesn’t mean I don’t know high-quality people.”

Being from Georgia, Glenn knew and knows a lot of players who were around during his high school days and says many of them have the acumen to be high-level coaches today. With about 150 active players in the NFL from Georgia, more qualified candidates are available every year.

Glenn hired Eric Swinney to become his offensive coordinator. Swinney was a star running back on Sandy Creek’s 2012 Class 4A championship team. Swinney played under Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss. Glenn says that, plus his understanding of schemes and situational play calling, makes it easy for them to work together.

Glenn hired Donte Curry as his defensive coordinator. Curry, a Savannah native, played for the Commanders, Lions and Panthers in his eight-year NFL career. Curry has previous high school coaching experience. He coached at Lovejoy under coach Al Hughes, who went to two title games in 13 years. 

Glenn plans to leverage the experiences of his coaches as a tool to push the program forward. Many players he’s brought in as coaches are not too far removed from their playing days — another bonus when thinking about the ever-changing landscape of the game.

“I believe that’s what I’m trying to surround my kids with, is understanding that there’s a coach here,” Glenn said about Curry. “He’s been to a level that you’re trying to get to.”

While assembling a staff of experienced former players, Glenn also had to considered how his leadership would affect someone even closer to home: his younger brother, Jayden, a cornerback for the Bulldogs. 

“I was just trying everything to do to try to get home for his senior year, to at least be able to help train him,” Glenn said. “Never did I think I was going to be his head coach.”

Glenn admits he is really hands-off with his brother at practices, for the most part. But it’s still big brother and little brother at family gatherings and meetups. And, who knows? Maybe someday, they’ll share the sidelines and headsets.

“By all means, if he were done playing and wanted to coach, I would definitely have him on my staff,” Glenn said.