Woodrow Wilson football coach Preston Brown reinstated by high school

Preston Brown has been re-instated as Woodrow Wilson High’s football coach, athletic director Will Hickson confirmed on Sunday.

Hickson said Brown had re-joined the team on Friday but declined to discuss any specifics of Brown’s re-instatement.

Contacted by text, Brown also declined to comment.

Camden City school district spokesman Dan Keashen also confirmed that Brown had rejoined the team.

“On Friday, Coach Preston Brown resumed his duties as head football coach for this season at Woodrow Wilson High School,” Keashen said in a statement. “I cannot divulge the details of the agreement with the school district. That said, we are happy to have reached an amicable settlement, which we believe benefits all parties involved.”

It is unclear whether Brown will remain with the team following this season.

Brown, a Woodrow Wilson graduate who led the team to the South Jersey Group 3 title last season, was relieved of his duties as both coach and the East Camden school’s dean of climate and culture on August 16.

At the time, two sources told the Inquirer that Camden school officials were considering a scenario in which Brown would be re-instated as coach but not as a school administrator.

Brown had been suspended with pay at the Camden Board of Education’s June 25 meeting pending results of an investigation into circumstances surrounding Woodrow Wilson’s prom, where Brown had served as a chaperone.

Shortly after Brown was relieved of his duties, sources close to him had indicated that Brown, who was not a member of the teacher’s union in his role as a school administrator, had sought legal advice on the possibility of returning as a coach.

Brown, a 2003 Woodrow Wilson graduate who played at Tulane University, has been the coach of his alma mater for the last four seasons. He invigorated a struggling program, leading the Tigers to the last two South Jersey Group 3 title games.

In November, Woodrow Wilson beat Burlington Township in the sectional title game. It was the program’s first South Jersey title since 2001, when Brown was a junior linebacker and defensive star.

Brown’s teams are 29-16 in four seasons. In the three seasons before Brown became coach, Woodrow Wilson was a combined 6-24.

Under Brown, Woodrow Wilson produced several NCAA Division 1 college recruits. Last year’s team featured wide receiver Stanley King, now a freshman at Rutgers, and quarterback Nick Kargman, now a freshman at Western Michigan.

This year’s senior class includes tight end/defensive end Fadil Diggs, who has committed to Texas A&M, as well as defensive end Dyshier Clary and linebacker Muheem McCargo, both of whom have committed to Temple.

The team has several other players who are regarded as possible scholarship athletes including sophomores Amari Clark, a wide receiver and defensive back, and Devin Kargman, a quarterback and Nick’s younger brother.

Woodrow Wilson is scheduled to open the season Sept. 14 vs. Camden Catholic.