By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor
PEARL RIVER — Chris Thomas will not be returning as the head football coach at Pearl River High?School.
Veteran assistant Paul Beebe has been selected to take the head coaching job.
Beebe has been an assisstant with the Rebels since 2010 and currently serves as the school’s athletic director.
Under Thomas, the Pearl River football team went 5-34 in four seasons under his direction.
Last year, the Rebels were 2-8, winning consecutive games in Weeks 4 and 5 against St. Patrick (Miss.) and Varnado. They then lost their five District 8-4A contests, including a Week 7 matchup against eventual Class 4A state champion East Jefferson.
Beebe has been an assistant coach for over 20 years. He worked at Lakeshore in its inaugural season in 2009 and at Fontainebleau for nearly a decade in the late 1990s and early-to mid-2000s. He was also the head coach for one season at Live Oak in 2008, going 4-5, before coming back to St Tammany Parish.
Thomas will continue to teach at Pearl River.