Friendship With Dabney Influencing Cole’s Time at Milan

Mark Cole was recently announced as the new Milan head football coach. He’d served as the defensive coordinator for the Wildcats over the past two years. Prior to Milan, Cole spent six years as the head coach at Grand River Conference rival Maysville. Cole says he built up a positive relationship with longtime Milan head coach John Dabney during his coaching career.

Cole’s coaching career has also taken him to stops at Gallatin and Savannah. One of Milan’s assistant coaches, Justin Duffy, was a player for Cole at Gallatin. Cole says these factors all played into his decision to come to Milan ahead of the 2020 season.

Cole adds his two years on Dabney’s staff has given him a valuable insider perspective of the program.

Dabney retired from Milan following 16 years at Milan and a coaching career spanning nearly 30 years. Cole has compiled over 100 career wins across 16 years as a head coach.