Spring Valley High is going to hire one of its own to lead the school’s football program.

Former Spring Valley standout Norman Washington will be the school’s new football coach, a local athletics source told The State. His hire is expected to be approved Tuesday by the Richland 2 school board. He replaces Nygel Pearson, who resigned after two seasons.

This will be Washington’s first head coaching job. He was most recently the linebackers coach at Class 5A Gainesville High in Georgia, the alma mater of former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Before Gainesville, he spent time was the co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia.

Washington is a 2009 graduate of Spring Valley, where he was a captain and an all-state selection. He went on to play at Middle Tennessee State in college, appearing in 38 games for the Blue Raiders from 2009-2011.

Washington will look to turn around his alma mater, which has struggled recently and will enter the 2025 season with a 24-game losing streak.

The losing streak for Spring Valley, which has sent seven former players to the NFL, dates back to the 2022 season. The Vikings have a rich history and have won four state titles with the last coming in 1988. Spring Valley reached the quarterfinals of the 5A playoffs in 2017.

SC Football Coaching Openings

School – Former Coach – New Coach

Aiken – Dwayne Garrick – Steve Hibbitts

Allendale-Fairfax – Tristain Armstrong – Travis Lewis

Brookland-Cayce – Rusty Charpia – Louis Clyburn

Cardinal Newman – Cory Helms – TBA

First Baptist -Jamaal Birch – Kevin Mapp

Gaffney – Dan Jones – Donnie Littlejohn

Greenville – Jaybo Shaw – Steve Watson

JL Mann – Steve Watson – Bryce Smiley

Keenan – Ray McCleod – Jarrett Neely

Kingstree – Brian Smith – TBA

Laurence Manning – Robbie Briggs – Jimmy Noonan

Lexington – Dustin Curtis – Stewart Young

Midland Valley – Earl Chaptman – Brent Dorn

Nation Ford – Michael Allen – Jake Bentley

Oceanside Collegiate – John Patterson (interim) – Brent LaPrad

Orangeburg Prep – Don Shelley – Brooks Smith

Pelion – Dann Holland – Cory Helms

Porter-Gaud – Brad Bowles – TBA

River Bluff – Blair Hardin – TBA

Saluda – Stewart Young – TBA

Southside – Roy Ravenell – TBA

Southside Christian – Mike Sonneborn – Jonathan Gess

Spring Valley – Nygel Pearson – Norman Washington

Trinity Collegiate – Jared Amell – TBA

Westwood – Rob O’Connell – TBA

West Ashley – Donnie Kiefer – Rashad Graham

West Florence – Jody Jenerette – Chad Wilkes

Whale Branch – Jerry Hatcher – TBA

Wilson – Daryl Page (interim) – Brian Wilson

Lou Bezjak: (803) 771-8419, @LouatTheState

Caption:

Sam Wolfe Special To The State

Spring Valley players enter the field before their game against Lugoff-Elgin in Columbia on Friday, October 25, 2024.