Irmo High School football coach named Carolina Panthers High School Coach of the Year
January 16, 2024
Irmo High School’s Head Football Coach Aaron Brand has been recognized as the Carolina Panthers High School Football Coach of the Year through the team’s High School Football Coach of the Week program presented by GMC.
Coach Brand was surprised with the news during a ceremony at Irmo High School Friday January 5th. During the ceremony, the Panthers presented Brand with a commemorative trophy and a $2,000 grant check to benefit the Irmo athletics program.
“It means a whole lot to me to be recognized for this honor,” Brand said. “I have won many awards in my lifetime and that is not boasting, but this is probably the biggest award because there were so many people up for this honor. For people to recognize the amount of work my coaches, myself and my student athletes put in every day it is a blessing. I don’t accept this award just on my behalf, but for the whole Irmo community!”
Brand has developed positive, successful high school football programs during his 15-year coaching career. He has transformed the culture of the Irmo High School football program. In the past five seasons, Brand has led the Yellow Jackets to consecutive winning seasons and helped rejuvenate a program that had not won more than seven games in a single season since 2010. Brand was selected as the 2020 Class 4A Coach of the Year by his coaching peers. In 2023, Brand led Irmo to a perfect 10-0 record during the regular season, which marked the first time the Yellow Jackets completed an undefeated regular season since 2002.
High school football coaches in North and South Carolina are eligible for the High School Coach of the Week presented by GMC award. Coaches were selected weekly based on individual milestone accomplishments and significant wins during the regular season selection window. The award also recognizes the outstanding contributions made by high school football coaches in the lives of their players, their communities and the development of football at the grassroots level.
“It is an honor to be recognized by your school and it is an honor to be recognized by your town, but for the Carolina Panthers to come down from Charlotte to Irmo to recognize what we already knew about Coach Brand is amazing,” School District Five Superintendent Akil E. Ross, Sr. said. “The transformational power that Coach Brand has for this community is an honor to see and I am so proud as superintendent to be a part of honoring him today. I am even more proud to see the faces of students and players that he has impacted here today. It just shows the mark of what we do each day to love and grow our students!”
Brand becomes one of 32 national nominees for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award. Two winners, one representing the AFC and one the NFC, will be announced before the NFL Pro Bowl.
