Kirk Academy Head of School Rob Shillito announced last weekend the hiring of Magee native and Grenada High School assistant football coach Justin Purvis as its new head football coach.
Purvis replaces Colin Boone, who resigned from the Grenada County-based private school on Feb. 28, to become the offensive coordinator at Class 7A Hernando. Shillito said that Purvis checked all the boxes in what qualities the school was looking for in a new football coach.
“We were concerned about finding the right fit from what we have been doing at Kirk Academy that would go with the mission of the school, which is to provide a quality education in a Christian environment,” Shillito said. “From a football standpoint, Coach Purvis has the credentials. He has been part of multiple successful programs — what they were able to do this year in Grenada speaks for itself.”
After interviewing Purvis, the Head of School knew he had his man.
“When I sat down with Justin and heard his heart for the Lord and building programs along with shaping young men, it was what made him standout out above everyone else,” Shillito concluded. “He is definitely the kind of leader we need for our program moving forward.”
Purvis said his decision to pursue the position was led by wanting to lead his own program.
“I was at a point in my career that my family and I were ready for a new chapter,” Purvis said. “It was the opportunity to run your own program, taking what you learned over the last 11 years and run around the block somewhere else.”
He will not have to run far as he moves from Fairground Rd. to Carrollton Rd. to lead a Kirk program that will be in a rebuilding mode after going 25-1 the past two seasons losing 14 seniors.
“There have been opportunities over the years for me and my family,” Purvis said. “We love Grenada and the community with a lot of good friends here. I think being able to check a few of those boxes without having to uproot my family is a really good opportunity.”
Purvis knows the challenge that awaits him following graduation of a big senior class at Kirk Academy.
“They had a lot of success in recent years and will be really young following the loss of a quality group of seniors,” he said. “Building a program from the ground up like I want to see it run is important to me. It starts in the seventh grade, and they are as important as the seniors. The numbers low, but you can only play 11 at a time. We want to make sure to put the best 11 players out there. The schedule is a gauntlet, but we won’t make any excuses. We are going to put our head down and go to work. I’m a firm believer that if you show up to work every day you can be competitive.”
Purvis is married to Courtney Purvis, who hails from Calhoun City, where Purvis started his career on the staff of the legendary Perry Liles. His career started at Calhoun City from 2014-18 teaching and coaching. During his time there, he coached middle school football and baseball in addition to helping with the high school program that played for two state championships in four years winning the 2016 title.
From there, he moved to Grenada High School in 2018. In his time there, he served as the offensive coordinator and also worked with the offensive linemen and served as the head coach of the powerlifting team. He coached under Ashley Kuhn, who now serves as the head coach at Winona Christian School and Michael Fair, who took over the program in 2023. The Chargers were the Class 6A Champions in 2024 and finished second in 2023.
Purvis will rely on his knowledge gained from his years under some of the top coaches in the state.
“The past two years at Grenada, I was blessed to be on a staff full of head coaches and coordinators,” Purvis concluded. “I get to take something from every one of them and put into this program. One of the main things is the day-to-day operation of the program and how you treat children. You need to make sure the players there know you love them and care about them — bottom line letting them know you have their best interests at heart. It may take time to build it, but we will get it where it needs to be.”
Purvis and his wife, have two daughters, Letty (6) and Spencer (4) along with a son Lee (3.)
