Seemingly every offseason brings turnover to the area's high school football coaching ranks -- and this season is no different. In 2017 seven northeast Georgia teams will begin the campaign with new men at the top.
And while the quantity of changes was lower than in recent years, the overall quality of the programs, and the new generals in charge, is significant.
Buford, East Jackson, Flowery Branch, Jefferson, North Gwinnett, Riverside Military Academy, and White County all sport new coaches. And all seven coaches have eiter extensive coaching backgrounds and/or are no strangers to running high-profile programs.
(NOTE: If you want in-depth information on 30 northeast Georgia high school football programs, and what the season has in store for them, be sure to visit Friday Game Night's 2017 Preview Page, chock full of everything you need to prep for kickoff.)
(Teams listed in alphabetical order:)
Buford, John Ford
- Takes over from Jess Simpson, who left the Wolves to take a position on the Georgia State staff and has since joined the Atlanta Falcons as an assistant coach. Simpson went 164-12 in 12 seasons, winning seven state titles (2007-10 and 2012-14).
- Head coach at Roswell for past five seasons, building a 40-12 record with two state runner-up finishes in the largest classification in the state (2015-16) and two region titles
- Architect of Hornets' spread offense that averaged 37.9 points per game over the last two seasons
- Has nine years experience as an assistant coach
- Member of the 1996 Brookwood state championship team
East Jackson, Scott Wilkins
- Takes over for Christian Hunnicutt, who left to take same position at defending Class AAAAAAA state champion Grayson
- Assistant coach for the Eagles in 2016
- Two different stints as head coach at Cedar Shoals in Athens from 1994-2007 (106-50-1 record) and 2014-15 (2-18); Waters-Wilkins Stadium at Cedar Shoals is partially named after Wilkins
- Led the Jaguars to 10 state playoff appearances in 16 total seasons
- His 1995 Jaguars team lost to Josey in Class AA final, 13-6
Flowery Branch, Ben Hall
- Takes over for Chris Griffin
- Head coach at Jefferson from 2013-16 (44-8)
- Led the Dragons to four playoff berths, including two quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal (2016)
- Offensive coordinator for the Dragons during their 2012 Class AA state title winning season
- Longtime offensive coordinator for Flowery Branch, including during their 2008 run to the Class AAA state championship game; Falcons lost 28-14 to Cairo
Jefferson, Gene Cathcart
- Takes over for Ben Hall, who left to take same position at Flowery Branch
- Head coach at Habersham Central from 2003-08 (40-27, 2 region titles, 2 quarterfinal runs)
- Head coach at Greenwood, S.C. from 2009-13 (58-12, 1 state title, 2 other state finals appearances)
- Head coach at Seneca, S.C. 2014 (9-3, second round of playoffs)
- Offensive coordinator for the Dragons (2014-16)
North Gwinnett, Bill Stewart
- Takes for over school’s winningest all-time coach in Bob Sphire, who left to take same position at Camden County
- Head coach at Etowah from 2006-11 (41-26, 3 region titles and 1 playoff win)
- Defensive coordinator for Mill Creek (2014-16), helped build defensive juggernaut for the Hawks that sparked back-to-back state semifinal appearances in 2015-16.
Riverside Military Academy, Nick Garrett
- Takes over for Kelly Davis
- Head coach at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California, 2015-16 (1-15)
- Garrett’s experience also includes time as the offensive coordinator at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas; quarterbacks coach and game coordinator at Western New Mexico University; quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Kansas Wesleyan University; and offensive coordinator at East Los Angeles Junior College in Monterey Park, California.
White County, Tim Cokely
- Takes over for Bill Ballard, who is now the defensive coordinator at Flowery Branch
- Head coach at Leon (Fla.), 2013-16 (20-23)
- Greater Atlanta Christian, 2010-11 (17-5)
- North Florida Christian, two different stints, 1995-2004, 2008-09 (12 seasons, 87-17, 6 state titles)
- Colquitt County, 2005-07 (14-18)
