Whether it’s football, basketball or baseball, coaches come and go every year in the northeast Georgia area. It’s just the nature of athletics.
This season, eight programs in the area welcomed new head coaches, Bryant Appling (Buford), Michael Perry (East Hall), Cameron Pettus (East Jackson), Rich McWhorter (Jackson County), Caleb Sorrells (Lumpkin County), Jaybo Shaw (Rabun County) and Jason Roquemore (Towns County).
Buford -- Bryant Appling -- Appling is a long-time Buford assistant going back to Dexter Wood’s final season (2004). He was a candidate in 2017 to replace Jess Simpson and was the defensive coordinator under Simpson during the height of the Wolves’ title seasons and decade-long run to the state finals.
He takes over for John Ford, who stepped down after just two seasons, with the Wolves seeing both their finals’ run and their semifinal streaks come to an end.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “I have tremendous support from the administration and the community and that should make things a little smoother.
“Only time will tell if we can get back to where people think we should be. We’re really not as far off as some people may think. Getting back to the Buford Way and focusing on the little things is the key.”
East Hall -- Michael Perry -- Perry is no stranger to Hall County, coaching quarterbacks Blake Sims and Deshaun Watson as offensive coordinator at Gainesville.
East Hall principal Jeff Cooper wanted to hire Perry two years ago but things didn’t work out. Last December, the stars aligned for both parties and Perry began his tenure at East Hall in January.
He takes over for Scott Patrick, who resigned after one season at the helm.
Perry is stepping into a rebuild situation. Between 2010-2017, the Vikings had no issue lighting up the scoreboard, averaging 30-plus points per game. Last season, they averaged 20.4 points per game, the lowest output since 2010. And the defense ranked last in Class 3A, giving up an average of 50 ppg.
With the many areas to improve, Perry is ready for the challenge.
“We want to make these people proud, this community proud,” he said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. Like I told my guys, the performance rises and falls on our behavior. We have to be intentional and skillful in everything we do. We have to stay above the line every day, and that’s a fight we’re going to have every day to maintain that, to not fall back to being impulsive and on autopilot. We talk about it every day.”
East Jackson -- Cameron Pettus -- East Jackson traveled to Illinois to find a Georgia native as its next head coach.
Cameron Pettus, from Paulding County, accepted the position in the spring and has hit the ground running.
He says the numbers are up in the program since he took the reins, and believes East Jackson is a “diamond in the rough.”
The Eagles have only one winning season in their 10 years of GHSA football. Frank Caputo guided the Eagles to a 10-2 record and a second-round Class 2A playoff berth in 2009. Since then, the Eagles head coaching position has been a revolving door and Pettus says he wants to create that consistency the program needs.
"When I interviewed, I said we need consistency," Pttus stated. "I'm not a guy that jumps around and I know that the grass isn't always greener. But I just love everything there is about this community and this school. I envision seeing my daughter graduate from East Jackson High school and me being the head football coach here."
Pettus knows it’ll be a rebuilding process at East Jackson. He also knows the season schedule is not an easy one, especially in Region 8-3A.
"It's tough as nails. Our motto is 'building something special,'" he said. "We know this region is tough as nails and we wouldn't have it any other way. We want to play the best. You've got to learn how to compete with the best and the best are in our region."
Jackson County -- Rich McWhorter -- The biggest offseason addition the Panthers made following a 3-7 campaign in 2018 was bringing in a living legend to guide the program. Former Charlton County coach Rich McWhorter, owner of 15 region titles and four state championships in 29 seasons in Folkston, and currently 14th on the all-time wins list in Georgia (288-79) is now running the show just off Highway 129. He is second among active coaches, behind only Alan Chadwick of Marist (375 wins).
Like many of the other new head coaches, the lure of something new was the appeal.
“Well, after basically 30 years at one place I just felt like it was time for a new challenge,” McWhorter said during the opening week of fall practice. “My youngest daughter is starting at (the University of) North Georgia and we wanted to be closer to her and the job here opened up. This is a great area and it seems like a great fit for my family and hopefully Jackson County.”
The Panthers will be young in spots in 2019 but McWhorter said that could work to their advantage.
“I came from a region where the teams in it played for state championships every year so being (in Region 8-3A) is very similar,” he said. “I think if the guys pick up what we’re teaching them quickly, by the time we get to region, we could be competitive. I feel good about where we are right now. Really looking forward to getting going.”
Johnson -- Stan Luttrell -- Luttrell’s first coaching job in Georgia was at Johnson in 2002. Blair Armstrong, also in his first season in 2002, hired him to lead his defense and build his athletes in the weight room.
Luttrell’s career has come full circle, at least in Georgia, as he enters his first season as head coach at Johnson.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we’re going to be successful here,” he said. “How long is it going to take? Is it going to be right now or three years from now?”
Luttrell built Chestatee into a playoff contender with the same philosophy from 2006-13. He guided the War Eagles to three postseason berths, four winning seasons, the program’s first-ever playoff win and a program-best 9-3 record in his last season. He says he wants to establish the same culture at Johnson.
“It’s been challenging,” he said. “But the kids are buying into what we’re trying to do. We want to be different than everybody else. I’ve said it before, it all starts with what we do in the weight room. We’ve been teaching a lot. We’re doing more lifts and exercises at a high tempo – teach, technique, tempo and transition. We’re doing a ton of work in a short amount of time.”
Lumpkin County -- Caleb Sorrells -- Sorrells began his career at Lumpkin County in late-April, taking over for Shane Williamson.
He left Stephens County after three seasons as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach for the Indians.
Prior to Stephens County, Sorrells coached at Cartersville and Gaffney, SC. While at Cartersville, he helped develop current–Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Now, Sorrells gets the chance to build the program his way, but also said the biggest challenge has been the administrative work.
“The biggest challenge is all the non-football stuff,” he said. “I want to be with the kids, the weight room and on the board dialing up all the Xs and Os. But it’s worth doing all that stuff (non-football) to know the fun part is being able to say I get to be the one that sets the culture.”
With the late start, the Indians didn’t have spring practice. So Sorrells and his new coaching staff has spent the summer installing a new program.
“I think they’ve progressed just like we were hoping they would, while we're still keeping in mind that we’re not where we need to be. Are we as far ahead in terms of scheme on both sides of the ball as I would like to be if we would’ve had spring and months of meetings? No, we’re not that far. But I think we’re right where I hoped we would be having gotten such a late start.”
Rabun County -- Jaybo Shaw -- After seven shorter-than-expected seasons, Lee Shaw stepped down from one of the state’s Class 2A powerhouses with five consecutive Region 8-2A titles, three quarterfinals appearances, one semifinal, and a berth in the 2017 state championship game.
To help ensure the Wildcats would not experience as many of those uncertainties as most programs do, the program was handed off to son, Jaybo Shaw, the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator for the past four seasons. Jaybo was the genius behind an ultra-powerful offense that led all of Class 2A the past two seasons in offense and scoring.
Despite the coaching changes and holes to fill in the roster, the expectations the younger Shaw has will not change in 2019 -- the quest for titles.
“Our goals are always the same every year: to win the region and state titles. If not, then what are you playing for,” Shaw said. “We’re embracing those expectations. The changes we’re going through won’t affect that.
“At the core, there are still a lot of the same things that have made Rabun County one of the top (Class) 2A teams in the state. Even when my dad was the coach we were always adding new things to make the program better. None of that will change. If we think something will make us better, we’ll look at it.”
Towns County -- Jason Roquemore -- “Coach Roq,” as he’s known, apparently loves a challenge. After spending seven seasons at Johnson, where yearly demographic shifts are the norm, he moved to the scenic hills of Hiawassee to take over an Indians program that is one of the most challenging, and interesting, in the state.
Towns County, most years the smallest public school in Georgia and the GHSA, has had just one winning season and one playoff appearance (2017) in its history. Roquemore didn’t blink when asked of his expectations.
“I feel like once we get everything implemented, and the kids have some time learning the systems, we can be competitive,” Roquemore said. “Depth is always an issue here. But it's just another one of the challenges that make this a unique place."
Roquemore believes the early games should prepare the Indians for region play.
"I know 8-A is tough but we’re not worried about anybody but us for now," he said. "We’ll start looking at those teams when we get there. I can’t wait for things to really get going. I’m very encouraged.”
