It didn’t take long for the Bremen High School football team to find its new head coach, as Scott Hodges was approved by the Bremen City Schools Board of Education during Monday night’s meeting.

Hodges is a graduate of Bremen and a longtime assistant, serving most recently as offensive coordinator under Ricky Tolleson. While he will now begin the next phase of his career, it comes with a little bit of a heavy heart.

“It’s an honor. Also, it’s a little bit sad to see coach Tolleson go. He’s been like a father to me. Many of the things I’ve learned about leadership and how to deal with young people and how to run a quality program and do things right, all of that can be attributed to him and some of the other coaches I’ve been around. He’s a class act, and he’s shown me the right way to do things,” Hodges said.

The Blue Devils won’t change too much under Hodges, but he will add his own style to the program he has been a part of since 1994. In that time, all but two years were spent with the Blue Devils — Hodges went with Tolleson to Villa Rica for the 1998-99 seasons before returning to Bremen.

“Looking forward to beginning my tenure as the head football coach. Many of the things that we do are what coach Tolleson has instilled in the program. We’ll add some new things and tweak some things, but we’re taking over a heck of a program. Bremen is my home. I’ve enjoyed being here, been blessed to be here the whole time except when I was in Villa Rica,” Hodges said.

For this year, Hodges will stay on as the head track and field coach for the Blue Devils and that position will be evaluated at the end of the year.

“I will remain the head track coach this year and then we’ll make some changes, but I’ll always be involved in track. I love that program. I’ve been the head track coach since 2000, and I really love the sport. The program has done nothing but grow and I want to continue to see it do that. The track program is vital. That and all the other sports go hand in hand because it makes you better across the board,” Hodges said.

Hodges will take over a program that went 5-5 last season and missed out on the state playoffs for the first time since 1997. There is no place Hodges would rather be, and he hopes when it is all said and done he will be able to finish off his career where it started as a player and as a coach — at Bremen.

“I’ve enjoyed being a Blue Devil and I hope I get the opportunity to be a Blue Devil the rest of my career. It’s an honor to me. I’m blessed, thankful, honored and humble and looking forward to getting everything going in the right direction and getting everything started,” Hodges said.