Legendary SC football coach Jackie Hayes stepping down at Dillon
One of the top high school football coaches in South Carolina is calling it a career.
Dillon’s Jackie Hayes announced his retirement Tuesday morning after 29 years as a head coach.
“After dedicating the majority of my life to the Dillon High School football program as a player, assistant coach and now as a head coach, I have decided to step down. It has been an honor and a privilege to be the head coach at Dillon High School,” Hayes wrote in a letter that also thanked family, players, coaches and others around the program.
Hayes told The State on Tuesday that he thought about stepping down before the season but didn’t want to do that during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dillon made it to the second round of the playoffs this year before losing to Gilbert 37-6.
“It is just the right time,” Hayes said. “I wished I could have walked off winning that last game, but when you coach that is part of it.”
In addition to his 29 years as head coach, Hayes also has been a state representative for District 55 since 1999. Hayes said he plans to serve out his two-year term in the S.C. House and then decide “what route I want to go.”
Hayes, a former player at Dillon, said he won’t be involved in the search for his replacement but said there are a lot of people on his staff who have credentials to be head coach.
Chapin coach Justin Gentry called Hayes a fierce competitor on and off the field. He said Hayes was one of the first people he called before he applied for the head coaching job at Lake City.
Gentry said Hayes “would roll up his sleeve and help you in any way he could.” The Chapin coach remembers Hayes trying to help his wife find a job after Gentry accepted an assistant coaching job at Marlboro County, one of Dillon’s rivals.
“Whatever he could do to help you he would,” Gentry said of Hayes. “His love for Dillon and the state of South Carolina will never be matched again.”
Messages from former players and current high school and college coaches poured in over social media to react to Hayes’ retirement.
“#Salute to one of the greatest coaches in SC. Thank you Coach Hayes for everything you’ve done for Dillon and the State of SC!!!” South Carolina linebackers coach Rod Wilson posted on Twitter.
Hayes put up a 336-56 record at Dillon in his 29 years. His teams won seven state championships and appeared in 14 title games — including eight in a row from 2012-19. The Wildcats won four titles in a row from 2012-15. Hayes’ .857 winning percentage is 32nd all-time, according to MaxPreps.
Hayes never missed the playoffs in his 29 years as head coach and had 19 straight seasons with 10 wins or more. He also was a head coach in the Shrine Bowl, North-South game and selected to the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012 and SC Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017.
“Over 29 years, I thought we kept getting better and getting better resources,” Hayes said. “We always had great community support, support from the administration. I had some outstanding coaches and players, too. When you put that all together, it is a road map for success.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 9:29 AM.
