After five months of waiting, Georgiana School finally has a head football coach.

At Thursday night’s Butler County Board of Education meeting, David Watts was approved as the Panthers’ new head coach.

For Watts, who has served as an assistant coach at Georgiana for the last two seasons, the promotion marks his first head football coaching job.

“This means an awful lot to me,” Watts said. “This has been a goal of mine since I was 17 years old and playing high school football. I’ve always known that this is where I wanted to be and I’m very appreciative of this opportunity.”

Watts previously served as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator. He also has head coaching experience as the baseball coach at Highland Home.

“We’re going to do things the right way, and we’re going to work hard every single day to get better,” Watts said. “If we do that, all these other things, like wins and losses, will take care of themselves.”

Watts served as the Panthers’ interim head coach during spring workouts after head coach Shawn Gregory was dismissed six games into the 2010 season. Athletics Director Kirk Norris coached the remainder of the season before Watts stepped in and ran spring practice.

On Aug. 1, Watts and the Panthers will hit the field for the first official practice of the 2011 season.

“I’m excited, and I’m ready to get out there and get to work,” Watts said.