It is standard operating procedure in modern sports to compare one era to another, one particular player to another; and certainly debate always rages about which coaching greats should stand atop the apex for all to revere.
Over the decades, northeast Georgia prep football programs have seen more than their fair share of coaching greats come and go and turn themselves, and programs, into legend status.
But with the sheer number of programs operating in northeast Georgia and around the state in 2016 -- seven classifications with more than 400 schools statewide just in the Georgia High School Association alone, 30 in our coverage area for AccessWDUN -- opportunities for finding and changing jobs has never been higher. But with that also come higher expectations in the age of social media and heightened instant gratification from fans, players, and even the coaches themselves.
Legendary coaches like Bobby Gruhn, Dexter Wood, Jim Lofton, Ray Lamb, Steve Savage, T McFerrin and Wayne Bradshaw, all led their teams to the height of success, with Wood at Buford, Lamb and Savage at Commerce, and McFerrin at Jefferson all bringing home state titles.
So, how would today’s coaching standouts -- Jess Simpson at Buford, Bruce Miller at Gainesville, Lee Shaw at Rabun County to name a few -- stack up against the area’s all-time greats?
After seeing all aspects of coaching in over four decades Wood, who stepped down from the Wolves football program after the 2004 season to become athletic director at Buford, said it’s tough to compare eras.
“Things were just different back in the day,” he said. “There were some great coaches back then; there are some great ones now. I know this, a great coach can coach no matter what era we’re talking about. I think coach Gruhn would have been just as successful today as he was back then. The same for coach Lofton and all those guys you mentioned. I think a lot of the really good coaches today would have done just fine back then.
“I think one big difference from then to now may be in the assistants. We have more quality assistants in every program now than ever before. There’s more access to film and social media things that are helping them coach the players. In the end, that’s what it’s really about: coaching players.”
Wood both praised and criticized social media as a tool in sports, however.
“In my opinion I think overall it’s harder to coach today with all the social media because it’s just such a big thing you have to worry about for your players,” he said. “But again, there are some ways you can use (social media stuff) to your advantage, like getting the players more immediate exposure. But that also comes with risks. It was just taking off when I stepped down. I’m glad I didn’t have to worry about it like they do today.”
Wood had more than a few battles with fellow greats. He went 3-5 against Savage, 1-2 against Lofton, but won his only meeting against Miller and the Red Elephants. He never faced Gruhn.
So who was his toughest foe?
“Coach Savage’s teams were tough and well-coached. Larry Campbell at Lincoln County was a great coach, and I thought Lofton’s teams at GAC were as good as any I ever faced,” Wood said. “I probably got more nervous knowing we were playing Commerce or Lincoln County than anyone else because those guys really knew how to coach and teach. You can see they were tough.”
Wood passed the football baton to Jess Simpson, whom he had groomed to replace him when he stepped down. And Simpson has only built on Wood’s success with 141 wins in 11 seasons with seven, that’s right, seven state titles.
“There are a lot of great coaches in the area like coach Miller, coach Shaw, coach (Tony) Lotti is doing some good things at West Hall, (coach Ben Hall) Jefferson has a great program,” he said. “But I’m not sure in all my years I’ve seen a better high school football coach than Jess. I may be biased, but how he handles the kids and all the things that go with high school sports now is amazing. We’re very fortunate to have him here.”
Records-wise, some of the old-timers may never be surpassed. Gruhn’s 254 wins at Gainesville puts him 24th all-time in Georgia. Miller, the current Gainesville coach, is now in his 15th season at Gainesville and has 148 wins with the Red Elephants and sits 42nd on the all-time list with 216 total victories, including stints at North Forsyth and Cass.
Miller, who won a state title with the Red Elephants in 2012 -- Gainesville's first in GHSA -- took nothing away from the “legends” as he called them but says the growth of the sport has helped paved the way for a sort of golden age of coaching. Like Wood, Miller started coaching when Twitter, Facebook and cell phones were the dreams of tech geeks.
“Those guys back then were great coaches. They would be great now,” he said. “But I think overall the quality of coaching is the best it’s ever been. With so many schools now, coaches are getting that chance that they may not have had 20 or 30 years ago. That’s great to see. I have assistants right now that are ready. They just need a chance.”
Miller said there are some aspects of the old days that he will miss, but others he is glad to see fade away.
“Coaching is much more political today than it was 20 or 30 years ago and that has added some difficulties. I’ll just leave it at that,” he said. “Also, the days of winning at all costs are gone, which they should be. But probably 99 percent of guys coaching today are in it for the right reasons: the kids. It should be kids first, then winning. That has been a positive change over the years.”
Here is a look at the histories of some of the legendary coaches of northeast Georgia compared with new era coaches (wins, longevity, and influence/impact all played factors in determining the list):
Legendary coaches of northeast Georgia (listed in alphabetical order):
Wayne Bradshaw -- East Hall -- 1987-99 (13 seasons) -- 85-50 -- Led the Vikings to three quarterfinals appearances (1987, ‘90, ‘93) and one region title (‘87). The school had just one state playoff appearance (1982, semifinals) until then. He built on what Jim Lofton had started and helped bring attention to football in what had been primarily a basketball school. He holds the record for most wins at East Hall with 85. He spent 13 seasons at Morgan County and has 86 wins for the Bulldogs and is second on their all-time list behind Kenny Moore (102).
Bobby Gruhn -- Gainesville -- 1963-92 (30 seasons) -- 254-104-5 -- Gruhn owns the most wins by a Gainesville coach. His teams won 13 region titles and advanced to three state finals but never claimed a crown -- falling in 1969 vs. North Springs, 1972 vs. Southwest Dekalb, and 1982 vs. Bainbridge by just a 12 points combined. He led the Red Elephants to three other state semifinal appearances.
Ray Lamb -- Commerce -- 1967-88 (22 seasons) -- 180-59-9 -- Lamb won 8 region titles and one state title (1981 over Greene County) with the Tigers. He and the Tigers lost two other times in the state finals -- in 1973 to Mount de Sales and in 1976 to Turner County. He lost four other times in the semifinals. He is second in wins at Commerce, one behind Steve Savage, who replaced him in 1989, and is 27th on the all-time Georgia wins list (249) with stops at Warren County (1961-66) and Monroe Area (1989-92).
Jim Lofton -- 1965-93 (25 seasons) -- Jefferson (1965-74), East Hall (1979-86), North Hall (1987-93) -- Lofton’s teams won two region titles (‘71 Jefferson; ‘82 East Hall) and he led East Hall to the Class AA semifinals in 1982, the only semifinal appearance to date for the Vikings. He never had a losing season with the Vikings, who had just four winning seasons total the previous 21 seasons going back to 1958 before his arrival in Rabbittown. He is second all-time on the wins list for East Hall (62). Had just two losing seasons in seven seasons at North Hall, which had produced just three winning seasons total before his arrival in Murrayville. His 36 victories was the most for any North Hall coach until Bob Christmas (105 wins) took over the program in 2001. ... He is 35th on the all-time Georgia wins list (233).
Tom “T” McFerrin -- Jefferson -- 2009-12 (4 seasons) -- 39-9 -- McFerrin, who is No. 10 on the all-time wins list in Georgia with 317 victories, only spent four seasons with the Dragons, his final ones as coach, but what an impact he had. They won two region titles and their only state title in his final season in 2012, and he helped groom current Jefferson coach Ben Hall, who has continued to push the Dragons into one of the state’s upper-tier programs.
Steve Savage -- Commerce -- 1989-2010 (22 seasons) -- 181-85 -- Owns the most wins all-time for the Tigers, one ahead of mentor Ray Lamb. He won six region titles and one state title (2000 over Buford) and reached three other semifinals.
Dexter Wood -- Buford -- 1995-2004 (10 seasons) -- 118-17 -- He won six region titles and three state titles with the Wolves. Won four region titles at Marietta and had one semifinal appearance. Wood’s Buford teams also lost two other times in the state finals -- in 2000 to Commerce in Class A and in 2004 to Charlton County in Class AA. Wood now sits third on all-time wins list at Buford behind Jess Simpson, (141 wins, 11 seasons and current coach) and Ed Cochran (129 wins, 19 seasons). Had just two losing seasons in 21 seasons overall at Lassiter, Marietta, and Buford with 210 total victories and is 46th on the all-time Georgia wins list.
New era area coaches (listed in alphabetical order):
Brian Allison -- Union County (1996-2001; 2008-present), Winder-Barrow (2002-07) -- (21 seasons) -- 109-96 -- Has only had six losing seasons and has built the Panthers into a consistent winner in two different stints in Blairsville. Owns most wins in Union County history and his 84 wins for the Panthers is nearly one-third of their total wins (255) as a program.
Michael Brown -- Commerce -- 2013-present (3 seasons) -- 26-11 -- Initially he was unsure if he was the man that should replace legend Steve Savage. But, he has embraced the job and expectations and his first three years have produced more wins than Savage (24) or Lamb (12) over the same beginning stretch as coach. He has guided the Tigers to the semifinals each of the past two seasons and the 19 wins in that time is the most in a two-year period for the Tigers since the 2002-03 seasons (21).
Bob Christmas -- North Hall -- 2001-13 (13 seasons) -- 105-56, most wins in North Hall history and nearly half (45.7 %) of the program’s overall victories. He averaged over 8 wins a season for a program that had never won more than 7 games in a season until he arrived. Now coaching in Virginia.
Bryan Gray -- East Hall -- 2007-present (9 seasons) -- 32-60 -- While the record may not suggest it, Gray has quietly built the Vikings back into a playoff contender during a time of changing demographics. His going on a 10th season as head coach for the Vikings is the second-longest tenure at East Hall by any coach behind Bradshaw since the school began playing football in 1958. They have not had a losing season since 2010 and back-to-back state playoff appearances the last 2 seasons are the first for the program since 1989-90.
Ben Hall -- Jefferson -- 2013-present (3 seasons) -- 32-6 -- Hall is one of the rising coaching talents in the area and the state. Between he and McFerrin they have guided the Dragons to the second round or further five times. Jefferson had advanced to the second round of the state playoffs just four times previously in its 62 seasons before their arrival.
Benji Harrison -- Jackson County (2012-14), Habersham Central (2015-present) -- 4 seasons -- 13-29 -- Don’t let the record fool you. Harrison, a disciple under Lee Shaw during Flowery Branch’s run at the state title, took a Jackson County program that had never made the postseason to back-to-back playoff appearances his first two years in Jefferson. He now is trying to resurrect a Raiders program with just three wins over the past four seasons. He is considered one of the up-and-coming coaches in the area.
Sid Maxwell -- Dawson County -- 2015-present (1 season) -- 9-4 -- Some thought it couldn’t be done in the foothills of the Appalachians but Maxwell guided the Tigers to their first-ever region title and their deepest playoff run in school history last year in his first season. Maxwell (137-87 over in 22 seasons) opened Lambert in Forsyth County and guided the Longhorns to three playoff appearances in his first four seasons and took Sequoyah to eight playoff runs in his 15 seasons in Canton so the Tigers also appear to be a program with huge upside potential.
Bruce Miller -- Gainesville -- 2002-present (14 seasons) -- 148-33, 2nd on Red Elephants win list behind Gruhn; 1997-2001 North Forsyth (36-22), owns most wins for the Raiders. Has won 8 region titles and one state title with GHS. Played for one other state title in 2009 but lost in a heartbreaker to Peach County. Reached three other semifinals with the Red Elephants. Won the only region title for the Raiders in 2001 and also reached the semifinals that season as well. Sits 42nd all-time for wins (216) in Georgia history.
Korey Mobbs -- Lanier -- 2014-present (2 seasons) -- 21-2 -- Mobbs will tell you he inherited a great roster from Billy Wells, who started the program in 2010. But in just two seasons he and his staff have upped the ante and expectations in Sugar Hill to produce back-to-back region titles with outstanding management of the talent in one of the fastest growing demographic areas in Gwinnett County. Believe it or not, they are probably just scratching the surface of what could be possible in the foreseeable future for the Longhorns.
Tony Lotti -- West Hall -- 2012-present (4 seasons) -- 23-20 -- Lotti repeatedly says he is building a program, not just a team, and has the Spartans in the conversation as one of the rising programs in the area. He guided them to the program’s only region title in 2014 and his three straight playoff appearances matches the entire amount in the program’s previous 24 seasons. His 23 wins already is second-most in program history behind Tim Marchman (54-51-1, 10 seasons).
Lee Shaw -- Rabun County 1995-present (20 seasons) -- 126-91 -- Rabun County (2012-present), Flowery Branch (2002-11), White County (1995-99) -- Has gotten better with age. He did not have a team with a winning record until 2005 but since then has gone 107-30 and averaged nearly 10 wins a season (9.7/season) for the Falcons and Wildcats with one state finals appearance (2008) and one semifinal appearance (2009), both while at Flowery Branch.
Jess Simpson -- Buford -- 2005-present (11 seasons) -- 141-10-0 -- He is already the winningest coach in Buford history and only retirement will probably slow him and the Wolves down. He has won 9 region titles and 7 state titles. Lost two others in 2011 and 2015. Only losing season as a coach was his one year at East Paulding in 1997 before rejoining the Wolves staff.
Bob Sphire -- North Gwinnett -- 2006-present (10 seasons) -- 104-23 -- He is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in school history and has not had a losing season at a program that had compiled zero region titles and just four playoff appearances in the previous 45 seasons. In his 10 seasons he has captured five region titles, played for two state titles, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs or better eight times.
Heath Webb -- Winder-Barrow -- 2014-present (2 seasons) -- 12-10 -- Webb and his staff have reinvigorated a program that had not had a winning season since 2003 with back-to-back winning seasons, and consecutive playoff appearances for the first time ever in program history. The 12 wins matches the Bulldoggs entire win total from 2006 to 2013. Webb and his staff appear to have things on the rise in Winder.
(Information gathered from Georgia High School Football Historians Association)
