Following Public Outcry, a Petition, and a District Investigation, Campbell Coaches Rehired

To the joy of many across the Cobb County community, Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced Thursday that the district has reinstated Randy McClure and James Gwyn, two beloved Campbell High School teachers and coaches who were terminated last month. The longtime educators, with over 1,200 wins and more than 70 years of combined coaching experience, were initially told by the school’s administration that their contracts would not be renewed for the 2025-2026 school year—a decision that sparked public outcry.

In March, during an allotment meeting with Principal Vanessa Watkins and Athletic Director James Thigpen, McClure and Gwyn were informed they would not be offered contracts for the next school year. Typically, allotment meetings involve department chairs, but this critical step was not followed in their case.

The decision triggered backlash from the Campbell community, and Ragsdale promised to investigate the matter during the Cobb School Board meeting last month. “I promised this board that I would look into what I believed was a questionable decision and process leading to Coach McClure and Coach Gwyn… two outstanding coaches and teachers, being nonrenewed by Campbell High School,” Ragsdale stated during his announcement that the coaches had been rehired.

Ragsdale continued, “Based on the investigation’s findings, I recommended that Coach McClure and Coach Gwyn be offered contracts for rehire by the Cobb County School District for the 2025-2026 school year.” At the conclusion of his announcement, Ragsdale emphasized that the district would work to ensure such an incident would not happen again.

Both McClure and Gwyn have since accepted and signed their new contracts. McClure expressed his gratitude saying, “I’m just overwhelmed and thankful for the community support and for the investigation.” McClure, for his part, was simply eager to return to what he loves. “Now we can get back to what we love doing, which is working with kids,” he said.

Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton also publicly recognized their contributions during a City Council meeting earlier this week, saying to Gwyn and McClure, “What we control is the ability to say how much you’ve meant to this community over the last many, many years and all that you’ve meant to our youth.”

Gwyn acknowledged the overwhelming support from the community, including a petition that garnered over 4,000 signatures, which played a role in the coaches’ reinstatement. 

McClure, who has won 617 games—all at Campbell—along with 12 region titles and four state semifinal appearances, shared with the MDJ that the initial meeting with the administration took him by surprise. A part of the Spartan community for almost 40 years, McClure witnessed the merger of Wills High School and Nash Middle School to form Campbell in 1989. In addition to his coaching career, McClure has taught science for more than 25 years.

Gwyn, who has won 583 games and a state title at North Clayton High School in 1993, has led the Campbell boys to a state semifinal and eight quarterfinals. He also teaches business and has served as a Campbell administrator for over a decade. Both coaches were honored in 2020 with the dedication of the 3,500-seat Gwyn-McClure Gymnasium at Campbell High School.