One of the top priorities for Wakefield High athletic director Dexter Cooley when he began his fifth search for a football coach in five years was finding someone who planned to stay at the school.

The more Cooley investigated, the more he appreciated the work of former head coach J.D. Dinwiddie at the school.

Dinwiddie was head coach in 2004 but had stayed on the staff as an assistant with each of his successors.

That loyalty and Dinwiddie's growth professionally and personally earned Cooley's confidence.

"Everybody deserves a second chance," Cooley said. "J.D. has grown and developed as a coach.

"He is going to be our sixth head football coach in six years. We need some continuity in the program."

Wakefield finished 5-7 in 2004 in Dinwiddie's only season as a head coach.

He succeeded Steve Rivers, who was the school's first football coach and stayed four seasons. Rivers, who had retired and moved to California, returned to Raleigh and succeeded Dinwiddie after the 2004 season.

Lee Atkins followed Rivers in 2006, and Chip Williams came in to coach the 2007 season.

Cooley said he knew the coaching carousel looked horrible, but he said there was a valid reason for every head coaching change.

"One thing that hit me during the process is that our team has made the playoffs each year with the new coach," Cooley said.

"That told me that someone was doing something very positive for us during the periods while we were looking for a new coach.

"J.D. has filled in for us every time we've made a change. He is the guy who has been the glue of the program."

Dinwiddie came to Wakefield as an assistant to Rivers in 2001. He was the offensive line coach and defensive coordinator during the 2003 season and was in charge of off-season work in the weight room.

A native of Proctorville, Ohio, he graduated in 1994 from Fairland High, where he played on the offensive and defensive lines, and from Marshall University in 1999.

He began his coaching career at Fairland in 1996. He moved to the Triangle in 2001 when his wife, who works at IBM, transferred here.