Demopolis High School's new head football coach Dustin Goodwin, second from right, with new Athletic Director Mark Heaton, left, and defensive coordinator Dylan Seabolt, far right. His wife Sara K. is from Greensboro and they have four boys.
Demopolis Athletic Director Mark Heaton and football coach Dustin Goodwin.
Demopolis High School's new head football coach Dustin Goodwin, second from right, with new Athletic Director Mark Heaton, left, and defensive coordinator Dylan Seabolt, far right. His wife Sara K. is from Greensboro and they have four boys.
Demopolis City Schools has a new sports leadership team as the school board on Thursday hired a new athletic director and head football coach.
And both are not new to Demopolis and the Tigers.
The new athletic and facilities director named Thursday is Mark Heaton, a 1997 Demopolis High graduate and former quarterback who has been an educator for 23 years. He spent the last seven years as athletic director and assistant principal at Baldwin High School.
“I’m excited about coming home,” Heaton said. “This place means a lot to me.”
The new head football coach is Dustin Goodwin, a 2003 Demopolis High graduate who played football under his father, Doug Goodwin, DHS' head football coach from 1999 to 2006. Dustin returns to Demopolis after serving as head coach at several high schools, most recently at Russellville High where he had a 14-9 record, including a 1-2 playoff record over his two years there.
Goodwin replaces Ricky Woods, a veteran coach who came out of retirement to fill in as DHS coach for the 2025 season in July after a sudden resignation of the two-year coach Lance Tucker.
Goodwin said he wanted to come back to Demopolis 13 years ago to serve as head coach, but the timing didn’t work out. He told the Black Belt News Network that this time, it was God’s plan for it to be now.
“I think God’s been preparing hearts and minds for doing what’s best for this place, and I’m really looking forward to it,” Goodwin said.
Part of the team is a new defensive coordinator Goodwin is bringing with him from his coaching staff at Russellville High and Chelsea High before that, Dylan Seabolt.
Goodwin’s wife, Sara K. – a Greensboro native – and four sons will be relocating to Demopolis. All four boys play three sports, including football, which means they will play under their father just like Dustin played for his father at DHS.
As Athletic Director, Mark Heaton will oversee the sports programs for middle and high school. He also will oversee facilities.
Cindy Fisher is Publisher of the Black Belt News Network and Selma Sun. You can reach her by emailing cfisher@blackbeltnewsnetwork.com.
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