Dunwoody's principal last week decided it was time to "go in a new direction" with his football head coaching position leading into spring practice, a school system spokesperson said.

Dunwoody principal Kevin Harris Thursday removed Michael Youngblood from his head coaching position for the Wildcats despite Youngblood leading the team to the state playoffs.

Harris did not return multiple phone calls for comment. DeKalb County School System spokesman Dale Davis said Harris "decided to go in a new direction with regards to the football program."

"It's really the principal that has the authority as it relates to the coaching staff," Davis said when asked why Harris decided to change the direction of the program. "Coaching is a privilege. It's not a right."

While no one specified why the move was made, Youngblood speculated it was in response to a locker room incident during halftime of Dunwoody's 20-9 homecoming win over Cedar Grove Sept. 25. Harris asked that a few of the players participate in homecoming halftime activities and a "heated" discussion followed between Youngblood and Harris outside of the locker room, Youngblood said.

Following the game, Harris "wrote me up for insubordination," Youngblood said.

A meeting three weeks ago carried a more casual tone, he recalled.

"It's a lot of things that are going on that I can't go into detail about," Youngblood said of the meeting. "But it was about three weeks ago when we sat down and talked about some different issues that [Harris] asked me about. From what I remember, it wasn't anything detrimental enough to say, 'This is what's going on and this is what we have to do next.'"

Then, on Thursday, "[Harris] just called me into the office and told me the program was headed in a different direction," Youngblood said. "I don't know [what the reason was]. [Harris] hasn't told me anything.

"The [Sept. 25 incident] is the one incident that [Harris] wrote me up for. He never said anything to me after that. We didn't have a meeting after the season. He didn't tell me what he was looking for in the program."

Youngblood went on to speculate further about response from Harris and the community, and commented about his relationship with Harris.

"To be honest, I don't really know what's going on or [Harris'] reasons for doing what he has done. it's just questions that he is going to have to have answered. Probably DeKalb County isn't going to let him say anything about it. They are probably going to keep a muzzle on his mouth.

"I just feel sorry for those kids that are there because they are fixing to go through three coaching changes in three years, and it's not fair to those kids. That's what we are there for...Sometimes, people can't let go of personal feelings, and I think it was something personal."

Youngblood led the team to a 7-5 record, a subregion championship and the second round of the Class AAA state playoffs after succeeding James Teter following the 2008 season.

Although Youngblood said he has been contacted by other schools about possible job offers, he still wishes Dunwoody's team well in the future.

"I don't know if I will totally move out of the Atlanta area," Youngblood said. "But I will see what's out there and what's best for my family.

"It's really no hatred [toward Dunwoody]. It's been a great opportunity. I just hate it for the kids. Hopefully, they can find a coach that can come in and do a better job than I did because I want those kids to succeed."