Mauldin High names Andre Cook from Airport as new head coach to lift football program

Andre Cook is the new football head coach Mauldin High School, it was announced Monday.

Cook was athletics director and head coach at Airport High School for one year. He took over a struggling program and went 2-8. Cook was previously an assistant at River Bluff (2017-21), before that at Fairfield Central (2015-17) and Blythewood (2009-15). He began his career at North Mecklenburg near Charlotte.

Mauldin was 2-9 last season and lost in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Andre, (wife) Lakisha and their beautiful family to Mauldin,” athletics director and baseball coach Jim Maciejewski said in a written statement. “Andre immediately provides our football program leadership and direction in order to put a competitive product on the field at all levels of our program. He has a passion for developing kids well beyond X’s and O’s.”

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"I’d like to thank Principal (John Michael) Peake and Coach Maciejewski for the opportunity to lead the football program at Mauldin High School,” Cook said on a social media post. “My family and I are looking forward to growing with the Mauldin community and extremely excited to be part of a school culture where excellence is the standard. Go, Mavs!”

Cook replaces Sayre Nesmith, who stepped down after three seasons. Nesmith was a longtime defensive coordinator at Mauldin and took over the top job after Harry Cabaniss went to Chapman.

Cook played for an FCS (then Division I-AA) national championship team at Youngstown State in 1997.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Mauldin High names Andre Cook as new football coach to lift program