DEMOPOLIS &8212; Friday&8217;s special called meeting of the Demopolis City Schools Board of Education allowed high school head football coach Tom Causey to officially announce Jeremy Sullivan and Rudy Griffin as the latest additions to a staff that has been shorthanded all summer.

Sullivan will work with the offensive line while Griffin fills the defensive coordinator position vacated when Brian Seymore accepted the head coaching position at Andalusia High School.

Sullivan, who has spent the last 10 years of his life in the shadow of Jacksonville State University, renewed his ties with Causey by making the move to Demopolis.

After graduating from JSU in 2002 with a degree in history, Sullivan served as a graduate assistant on the football coaching staff for two years. He then took over as defensive line coach for one year before moving to offensive line where he served for the past three seasons.

Causey also believes Sullivan, 28, fits well into the program&8217;s character-first approach to coaching.

Griffin, 24, will be immediately tasked with upgrading a defense that has received minimal work thus far this summer. A familiar name to many in the state, Griffin was a standout defensive lineman at the University of Alabama.

Griffin, a Georgia native, served as the defensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach at Dakota State University in Madison, S.D. two years ago before filling the same positions at the high school level last season.

The move is the second major life change in a matter of months for Griffin and his wife, Marquita, who recently welcomed their daughter Genesis into the world.

According to Causey, Griffin&8217;s approach to coaching and work ethic served as key factors in the decision to hire the young coach.

Causey said he believes both hires will bring stability to the program while enriching the community.

In addition to their coaching duties, Sullivan will teach social studies at DHS while Griffin will teach health and physical education.