Randy Birch takes over as new head football coach at Rock Hill

Former Gaffney defensive coordinator Randy Birch has been hired as the next head football coach at Rock Hill High School.

Birch worked as an assistant coach at Gaffney since 2013, serving as defensive coordinator for the 2021 5A state championship team.

He takes over for Bubba Pittman, who stepped down after 10 seasons at the helm for the Bearcats.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Birch said at his introductory press conference Thursday afternoon. “It was a tough decision, but after doing a lot of research on the community and the school, it ended up being a no-brainer at the end of the day.”

Birch expressed reverence for the deep football legacy of “Football City, USA”.

He said that the local community has welcomed him with open arms, and he’s excited to get to work.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Birch said. “I did my best to reply to every single message I’ve gotten or every single tag that I’ve gotten. I’ve gotten behind today, we’ve had a busy schedule. I’m going to try to get back on that, but (the response is) definitely not what I expected. I expected to get some friends and family, and the response from this community right here was definitely unexpected. It put a smile on my face, put me at ease, gave me some extra confidence coming into today.”

With the South Carolina High School League approving spring practice time during March for football programs, Birch envisions hitting the ground running starting Monday with skill development for his new team.

He hopes to have a plan of what he wants his offense and defense to look like by May.

Rock Hill athletic director Eric Rollings said that the interview process was long but thorough. He said he is more than confident that Rock Hill has made the right decision for the football program.

“I think his knowledge of the game, his passion for football and our student-athletes is really what propelled him above everybody else,” Rollings said. “His energy and his ability to motivate kids and coaches is what our program needs, and we’re excited about having him here.”

Birch said that there is no scheduled game between Rock Hill and Gaffney for the next two years, but teased that the match-up might someday happen again.

This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 12:00 AM.