BREAKING: Jamie Mitchell Leaving Starkville for North Little Rock

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — One of the most well respected and talented coaches in Mississippi is taking his talents to Arkansas.

WCBI confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Starkville High School head football coach Jamie Mitchell will be leaving to take the head coaching job at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas pending board approval on Thursday. The Daily Journal’s John Davis was first on the news.

(Daily Journal)
Starkville High School head football coach Jamie Mitchell is leaving to take a job in Arkansas.

Mitchell was 51-17 in his five years as head coach at Starkville High. He helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the 5A State Championship in 2012 and a runner-up finish in 2011. His 2014 team was ranked in the top 10 at one point in the national high school football polls.

North Little Rock High School has been one of the most successful 7A football programs in Arkansas the last five years. The Charging Wildcats amassed a 50-12 record in the last half decade under then head coach Brad Bolding.

Bolding was fired back in April over alleged recruitment violations at North Little Rock.

Mitchell leaves behind a program that returned to prominence under his tutelage. The Jackets were 5-6 in Mitchell’s first year but surged to a 12-3 record in his second season and a runner-up finish in class 5A. Since his first season, Mitchell won 9 or more games in the final four years at the school. He lost just 11 games in those four seasons.

Starkville High will be one of the top teams in the state in 6A for 2015 with a defense that has multiple division one recruits and an offense that boasts one of the top wide receiver prospects in A.J. Brown. As of now, there is no immediate replacement for Mitchell.