Ex-Chiles coach Kevin Pettis changes course: Accepts reassignment from Leon Schools
Former Chiles High School head football coach Kevin Pettis, who was removed from his position on June 14 after an investigation into alleged misconduct, will not be heading to Wakulla County High School after all.
He has instead accepted a reassignment by Leon County Schools to the Ghazvini Learning Center.
An earlier report from the Tallahassee Democrat found paperwork from Wakulla County School District that Kevin Pettis was to be hired as a teacher at Wakulla County High School at the upcoming school board meeting on July 24.
Pettis told the Tallahassee Democrat that his reassignment from Leon County Schools was taking too long, which prompted him to apply for a job in the Wakulla County School District. Tuesday, however, Kevin Pettis met with school officials at Ghazvini Learning Center and accepted his reassignment from LCS.
Pettis will not be coaching football.
The hiring comes nearly a month after Leon County Schools released the investigative report, which revealed students alleging that the coach berated them verbally and used explicit language during team activities.
Documents from the Wakulla County School Board show a David Pettis – Kevin Pettis's legal name according to official documents – on the personnel agenda for the July 24 meeting under a section labeled "New Hires." The document also shows a Robert Pettis – Trey Pettis's legal name – who would be hired within the Wakulla County School District.
Kevin Pettis' son Trey Pettis is expected to be hired as an ESE (Exceptional Student Education) paraprofessional in the district. According to Kevin, Trey will take the job and also work with the football team.
A spokesperson for Leon County said they received no notification from the district about the proposed hirings.
Kevin was seen in Wakulla football's 7-on-7 highlight video against Lincoln posted by Teddii & Jojo show on Youtube on July 11. A source confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat that Pettis was helping out at two Wakulla 7-on-7 games, one at Lincoln and the other at Rickards.
On April 19, LCS announced that Kevin Pettis had been placed on paid leave and that it had hired an outside firm to investigate possible athletic violations. On June 14, LCS announced that Kevin Pettis had been removed from the head coach position and reassigned elsewhere in the district.
The district also announced Trey Pettis was put on leave on June 8 "pending a review of school board policy". On June 14, Trey Pettis announced that he was stepping down as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Chiles, the same day Kevin Pettis was reassigned.
On June 26, Sniffen and Spellman, P.A. released its findings from the investigation. The 24-page report investigated allegations of:
Whether Chiles players were instructed to take out a player from the opposing team (Mosley High School during the 2022 season) in a way that was potentially dangerous.
Whether two Chiles football players lived out of zone while playing football for the school.
Whether Chiles football players and other students were subjected to conduct prohibited by District policy.
The firm determined that Kevin Pettis violated district policy due to actions and comments related to three students and corroborated, and "partially sustained" that one of two Chiles football players lived out of zone while playing football for the school.
It was unable to determine that any player on the Chiles football team was instructed to block a Mosely player in an improper or potentially dangerous manner.
On June 28, Trey Pettis announced that he had been hired at Wakulla High School as the offensive line coach.
Coincidentally, the younger Pettis could be back at Chiles soon on the visitors' sideline. Wakulla is scheduled to kick off its regular season at Chiles on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.
Chiles recently announced long-time defensive coordinator Bill Ragans as their interim head coach on July 10. Ragans spent six seasons as Kevin Pettis's defensive coordinator.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney. Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ousted Chiles coach Kevin Pettis set to teach at Ghazvini Learning Center
