Fairmont coach Jeremy Carthen gives his team instructions during an Oct. 18 game at St. Pauls. Carthen and Fairmont mutually parted ways on Monday.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
FAIRMONT — Fairmont High School and head football coach Jeremy Carthen agreed to mutually part ways on Monday, the coach and school both confirmed to The Robesonian.
Carthen submitted a letter stating his resignation on Monday, but the decision was mutual, both sides said.
“Administration and myself felt like the program needed something different, so they decided to go in a different direction and I was pleased to take a step back from the program to do what’s best for the kids,” Carthen told the Robesonian. “It was more of a mutual situation, we both felt like the program needed something different.”
Carthen was the Golden Tornadoes’ head coach over the last two seasons, going 2-18 in that span. Fairmont was 0-10 this fall, the program’s first winless season since 2003 and second in in its history.
Fairmont High School issued the following statement: “It was a mutual decision between Fairmont High School and coach Jeremy Carthen to part ways. Fairmont High School wishes Coach Carthen the best in his future endeavors.”
Carthen, a Red Springs alumnus, was hired at Fairmont in Dec. 2022 after five seasons as an assistant coach at St. Pauls and a previous stint at South Robeson.
Carthen thanked former Fairmont principal Kent Prater, former Fairmont athletic director Michael Baker and former Robeson County athletic director Jerome Hunt for making “my dreams come true” as a first-time head coach, and thanked the current leadership, including Fairmont Principal Anthony Barton, Fairmont athletic director Marcus Thompson and Robeson County athletic director Glenn Patterson Sr., for their continued support.
“The last two years was amazing for me — maybe it wasn’t on the wins and loss column,” Carthen said. “It was amazing, the kids were amazing; it wasn’t about the wins and losses, it was more about me growing in my profession, learning how to be a head coach, learning how to stumble and fall and learning how to get up and do it with grace.”
The coaching change is just the latest in a series of them for the Fairmont program, which will have its fourth head coach in a six-season span and its 10th in 19 seasons when it hires Carthen’s replacement for 2025. The program has won two games or less in each of the last five seasons.
Carthen is unsure exactly what’s next for him, although he will remain on staff at Fairmont as a history teacher for the time being.
“I’m seeking some opportunities to see if I can still coach at the head-coaching level, or assistant coach — anywhere that a program needs where I feel like a good fit, that’s where I’m going to probably head,” Carthen said. “But I appreciate everything in the Fairmont community and the Fairmont administration, and the kids, I’m blessed to have them as part of my journey in the coaching profession.”
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on X at @StilesOnSports.
