‘Chip’ Seagle Era begins at Lanett High

LANETT, Ala. (WTVM) - A familiar face is back with Lanett for this upcoming football season and he loves himself some Panther football.

“I’ve been gone for 3 football seasons… every Friday night during football season I still get the max prep alerts for Lanett scores.”

According to Lanett High Athletic Director Clifford Story, former assistant coach Wayne “Chip” Seagle has taken over the reins as head coach and assures everyone the Panthers are coming.

”I told the kids when I met with them, we’re not rebuilding anything we’re building on… I’ve inherited a wonderful home.. a house if you will that he built from the ground up,” he said.

The ‘He’ in question is former Lanett Head coach and current Atheltic director Clifford Story who’s coached the Panthers since 2009. He backs his new head coach 100%.

“Why not have someone that you trust, someone that has been in the trenches with you, somebody that you know without a shadow of a doubt is gonna get the job done,” Clifford Story, Lanett Athletic Director, and former head football coach said.

That trust in Seagle means a great deal to the new head coach.

Seagle speaks highly of Coach Story and spoke on how much honoring his legacy means to him moving forward.

“It’s coach story’s program..and I’m gonna honor that and um I told the kids don’t have the external motivation and to be a little hypocritical coach story is an external motivation to me.. the fact that I want to honor his legacy and his trust in me… that matters,” Seagle said.

The young and upcoming Panthers will look to build on their previous season where the team finished 5-5 and ended as first-round exits.

Football season can’t come fast enough as those in Lanett await the commencement of the Seagle era come this fall.

Seagle is a graduate of Troy State University. He has been coaching high school football since 1985 and has coached in over 400 games.

He has experience coaching all over Alabama, but his greatest success came with the Lanett Panthers from 2009-2019.

Seagle was a part of the staff, when the Panthers won two state titles, broke several scoring records, and had many all-state players.

Coach Seagle has previously coached at Dothan High School, Smiths Station, Carroll, Goshen, Muscle Shoals, and most recently at the Heritage School in Newnan.

Seagle lives in Pine Mountain, with his beautiful wife, Miss Tammy. They have six grown children and three grandchildren between them.

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