Chris Fortenberry formally introduced as Harrison Central head football coach

GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV) — Earlier this week, Chris Fortenberry was named the next head football coach at Harrison Central High School.

Now, he’s officially become part of the Gulfport community.

Fortenberry made his first official appearance as the newest head coach of the Red Rebels on Friday afternoon at a meet and greet, giving the community a chance to meet the championship winning coach.

He comes to the Coast from Columbia High School, where he helped lead the Wildcats to their third-straight title in 2025 as a defensive coordinator. Fortenberry spent 15 years as a defensive coordinator across the Magnolia State, with 10 total playoff appearances. He also served as the head coach at Richton High School for three years, where he reached the playoffs twice.

Fortenberry spoke more on what his plans are for the program.

“The thing we’re going to do is try to do things the right way and build a culture where hard work and determination and, just, paying attention to the daily grind of what we’ve got to do to get better… a little better everyday,” Fortenberry said. “When you do that, the results will take care of themselves. As far as what I expect year one is that [we’ll] build that culture, get the groundwork of the program built, and then play the game the right way regardless of circumstance, situation or score that’s on the scoreboard. Just always playing with great effort, and usually things will work out for you.”