A former high school and college football coach from the Carolinas has died. Former Western Carolina Head Football Coach Kent Briggs passed away on Friday. Briggs grew up in Asheville and graduated from A.C. Reynolds High before going on to play at Western Carolina in the late 70's.
He became an assistant coach there in the 80's and was a part of Western Carolina's run to the FCS National Title Game in 1983. He later spent time on staff at N.C. State and Connecticut before returning to Cullowhee (Cull-A-Wee) to become the Head Coach at Western Carolina in 2002.
After his tenure there, Briggs later coached at both Smoky Mountain and Cherokee high schools in Western North Carolina. He led Cherokee to a state title in 2017 before retiring in 2019. During his coaching career Briggs battled various forms of cancer. Kent Briggs was 68 years old.
