Marietta High School Blue Devil Football

Cris Bell enters his first season on the Blue Devi's staff and will coordinate the special teams and coach linebackers.  Coach Bell has spent the past four years as the Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, GA.  On the football field, Bell’s teams made 2 playoff appearances in the school’s first 3 years of varsity competition, with him being selected as GISA Region IAA Coach of the Year in 2008. 

Prior to moving to Georgia, Bell served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for five years, where the Tigers had a cumulative record of 34-16.  Coach Bell spent one year as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Carson-Newman College, helping the Eagles to a South Atlantic Conference Championship and playoff appearance in 2004.  At Carson-Newman, Bell recruited former Blue Devil, Jeff Weaver, who went on to earn all-conference honors at CNC. In 1999 and 2000, Bell was the head coach at James River High School in Midlothian, VA, where he took a program that had 9 wins in the previous 5 seasons to a 2 year record of 15-6 and the 2000 Dominion District Championship.  Bell was honored as the Dominion District and Central Region Coach of the Year for the 2000 season.  Before his stint at James River, Coach Bell spent one season as the linebackers coach at Greenville College, four years as the offensive coordinator at Mills Godwin High School in Richmond, VA, four years as the defensive coordinator at Appomattox County High School in Appomattox, VA and one year as the line coach at Patrick County High School in Stuart, VA. 

In addition to his on field duties, Coach Bell will teach history and physical education at Marietta.  He received his Bachelor's degree in history from Hampden-Sydney College, where he was a 3 year starting linebacker, helping lead the Tigers to the 1987 ODAC Championship.  Originally from Richmond, VA, Bell and his wife of 21 years, Kim, have three daughters, Haden, a freshman at the University of Alabama, Pearson, a 9^th grader at MHS, and Evie, a 4^th grader at Burruss Elementary and one son, Reese, a 2^nd grader at Burruss.  The family resides in Marietta.