North Iredell Names New Football Coach

North Iredell High School has announced that Tony Pyland is the school’s new Head Football Coach.

Raised in northeast Texas, the Stephen F. Austin State University graduate boasts 26 years of coaching experience in both Texas and North Carolina.

Pyland was an assistant at Graham before becoming East Mongtomery’s head coach in 2005. He spent two years leading that program. In 2007, Pyland took the reins at Monroe’s Central Academy of Technology & Arts. He was CATA’s head coach through the 2010 season.

From 2011-2016, Pyland coached in Texas. He then returned to North Carolina, where he made stops at Harnett Central and Seaforth.

In 2024, West Caldwell hired Pyland to replace Monte Simmons. When he arrived in Gamewell, he inherited a program with a 31-game losing streak.

The Warriors were 0-10 during his first season. A 26-20 victory over Avery County on Aug. 29, 2025, snapped a 42-game slide, the state’s longest active losing streak at the time. West Caldwell finished 2-8 last fall.

Andy Howell resigned as North Iredell football coach following a 34-23 loss in the 2025 season opener, where Wilkes Central overcame a 23-0 halftime deficit.

Assistant coach Kent Millsaps took over on an interim basis for the remainder of the campaign, which saw the Raiders finish 1-9 overall and 0-5 in the North Piedmont 6A/7A Conference.