The coaching carousel is spinning again at Tallulah Academy. Only this time, it stopped with a familiar face.

Assistant coach John Weaver, a Vicksburg native, was promoted to head coach on Thursday. He replaces Doug Branning, who led Tallulah to the playoffs in his only season as its coach. Branning is stepping down at the end of the school year to become the headmaster at Porters Chapel Academy.

It’s the first head coaching job for the 28-year-old Weaver. The school’s other assistant coach, Robbie Watkins, will remain in that position.

“When I was an assistant at other places, people would ask when I was going to apply for a head coaching job. I always told them I’d apply when I knew I was ready. I knew I was not ready then,” Weaver said. “Now I know I’m ready to assume this role and take this program to the next level.”

Weaver’s hire keeps some continuity in a program that sorely needs it. Once one of the Mississippi Private School Association’s strongest programs year in and year out, Tallulah fell on hard times the last half-decade as it changed coaches more often than some teams change uniforms.

From 2005 to 2007, Tallulah had nearly as many coaches (three) as wins (five). Branning turned the team’s fortunes around, though, and Weaver said he doesn’t intend to make radical changes to a good thing.

“That is a major, major step in the right direction. Considering they had five coaches in four years or whatever it was, having a guy like me who’s been around them and knows them, that’s something these boys have never had,” Weaver said.

Weaver himself has changed addresses several times in his football career. After graduating from Warren Central, he went on to play for Hinds Community College and Delta State as a punter. He’s on track to receive his masters degree in education from Delta State in April.After college he went into coaching, and held assistant positions at Porters Chapel, Sharkey-Issaquena and North Sunflower before he was hired at Tallulah last summer. He’s coached both sides of the ball, but said his greatest preparation for finally becoming a head coach came from watching Branning last season.

“I’m a lot more prepared now,” Weaver said. “There’s stuff I saw that he did — little things, like the way he did things on game day, the way he ran a practice — you can’t pay him for that experience. You’re blessed to have that.”

Branning also left Weaver with a nice parting gift — a pretty good team.

Eight offensive and seven defensive starters will return for the Trojans next season. They’ll move into a much tougher division that includes perennial powerhouse Trinity.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.