Liberty County High School has made interim football coach Tony Glazer its permanent choice.
Glazer led the Panthers to a 7-5 record in 2022 as the interim, taking Liberty County to the second round of the Class AAA state playoffs.
“It means a lot having the support of the administration giving me this opportunity,” Coach Glazer said. “I’m excited about this opportunity and to see what we can be and to get back to work.”
Glazer was named interim following the passing of longtime coach Kirk Warner in the summer.
"We are elated to have Coach Tony Glazer named the fifth head football coach at Liberty County High School,” said school athletic director Warnella Wilder. “We have the utmost confidence in him and look forward to supporting him along this journey.”
Glazer said he made his intentions clear that he wanted to be considered for the job on a permanent basis.
His hire also means more continuity for the program, which has not had much staff turnover the last few years.
“We’re all familiar with each other,” Glazer said. “We’ve had the same staff pretty much the last four or five years, so we have men around the program who really care about the kids. We’re all on the same page when it comes to expectations, and our expectations are to take another step forward.”
Though the Panthers are losing a deep senior class, Glazer commended them for persevering through a difficult time and helping keep the standards high.
“We’re losing a good group of seniors who worked their tails off. And they went circumstances that were really tough,” he said. “You’re going to lose good players year in and year out. They’ve set a standard for how hard we work.”
Glazer is anxious to see what the returning, and upcoming, Panthers can do. Offseason workouts begin next week.
“The plan is the same - let them know the expectations and the expectations of the work ethic,” he said. “We have to put the work in and see what comes in November.”
Glazer has coached football for 14 years, 11 of which have been with Liberty County High School. During his time with LCHS, he served as defensive coordinator for seven years and offensive coordinator for four years, as well as assistant head coach under Coach Warner.
He has been part of three region championship teams and coached in 10 playoff appearances, including two Elite Eights.
Glazer hasn’t lined up a potential spring scrimmage partner and may not play one at all.
“For now, we’ll take those two weeks and worry about Liberty County, just focus on us and try to get better,” he said.
Coach Glazer earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Georgia Southern University and education specialist degree with a major in coaching pedagogy in physical education from Valdosta State University.
Coach Glazer is married to Kristen Glazer, and has two boys – Landon (11) and Thomas (8).
Liberty County High School will hold a “Meet the Coach” event on Friday evening, February 3, 2023 at 5 p.m. The event will be held at Liberty County High School.