February 28, 2022

On Wednesday, Jan. 19, the Atlanta Falcons announced that Columbus State alumnus Zach Corcoran, head coach of the girls flag football program at Columbus’ St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School, as its Head Coach of the Year Award recipient. This was the first time the Falcons have honored a girls flag football coach with this award.

Since each NFL team’s coach of the year honoree is also a nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award, it also marked the first time in NFL history that a girls flag football coach was a contender for the national coaching title.

Corcoran discovered his passion for flag football as an undergrad at Georgia Southern University. He was pleasantly surprised to find that when he arrived at CSU to pursue his master of arts in teaching, CSU not only had a flag football program, but a pretty successful one.

“My time at Columbus State was significant because the university has a great flag football program, and I was super involved with the intramural flag team there,” said Corcoran. “We went to state, and even played at nationals. Not too many coaches have flag experience when they start their coaching career, so I was fortunate to be a part of Columbus State’s flag program.”

Upon graduating from CSU in 2019, Corcoran returned to St. Anne-Pacelli, his high school alma mater, as the girls soccer coach. He also began laying the groundwork for a girls flag football team, in the event that the Georgia High School Association sanctioned it as an official state sport.

When the GHSA did just that in 2020, he launched the school’s flag football program and hit the ground running. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lady Vikings rolled to a 14-2 season record during their inaugural season and won a regional championship. The next season, they made it all the way to the GHSA state semi-finals.

“To find someone as passionate as he is for teaching and coaching sports, he really is special,” St. Anne-Pacelli Athletic Director Corry Black said of Corcoran. “He’s just a gem. You can’t find anybody that does what he does.”

Coach Corcoran said he is proud of his team and is energized and humbled by the attention the Atlanta Falcons are bringing to flag football.

“Obviously, I respect all the tackle football coaches, I know their job is really hard and that they are a great influence on their kids; but what the Falcons chose to do this year was recognize women in sports, to really shine a spotlight on them and their involvement in the sport of football,” he said. “I’m truly grateful and excited to represent women in sports."