Danley resigns as BHS coach

John Danley has decided to stop juggling so many jobs.

He is stepping away from his second stint as head football coach at Byhalia High School to focus just on administrative duties as assistant principal. He has been serving in both roles, plus athletic director.

“It all began to weigh on me,” he said.

Danley said he got out of coaching the first time, after serving as the head man in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and didn’t plan on returning to the sideline.

In 2012, the Indians were eliminated in the third round of the post-season and, in 2013, they made it to the second round.

He then got his administrative degree and stayed at Byhalia High School.

A few years later, former superintendent of education Lela Hale “changed the course,” he said.

She asked him to take the head coaching position again just prior to the 2017 season.

“I came back because of the opportunity to rebuild the program,” Danley said.

“The numbers were down, and we needed to upgrade the facilities and equipment.” The past four years, the roster surged from 30 players to 48, and he led the Indians to playoff berths twice, in 2018 and 2020.

“Plus, I wanted to get the colleges back in Byhalia, recruiting these kids,” he said.

In the past four years, 15 student athletes have signed college scholarships. In all his years as head coach at Byhalia, about 40 have moved on to the next level.

Some of the headliners have included his own son, Jamal Danley, Oklahoma; plus, Curtis Akins, Memphis; Chris Rayford, Mississippi State; and Davion Johnson, Ole Miss. He has coached two Dandy Dozen players, Johnson and Makylan Pounders, who is a senior this year and recently signed with Memphis.

“When it comes to providing collegiate football players, we are right up there with some of the larger schools in our area — and better than most,” Danley said. “I’ve preached and preached that the small town of Byhalia always needs to be in the conversation.”

Danley is in his 13th year of working at Byhalia. He has been in education 21 years. He plans to stay at Byhalia until he retires.

“Then I will branch off and

do something else,” he said. He believes Byhalia football is on the map, when it comes to talent, playing hard, postseason participation and college recruiting.

“This past year, for instance, these young guys got better and better as the year progressed and made the playoffs,” he said.

“And so many college programs, I can’t name them all, have reached out over the years and been in this building.

“That’s a good feeling — giving these kids the opportunity to leave Byhalia, get a college education, continue to play football and do well.”

Jeremy Jackson, one of his assistants the past four years, will replace Danley as head coach. Jackson is a graduate of Byhalia High School.

“He has dedicated himself to Byhalia,” Danley said. “He will continue to help the program grow.”