McEachern’s Stephens among 13 new head coaches in Class AAAAAAA

Best job: McEachern

Toughest job: Lakeside

Most interesting: Kyle Hockman left McEachern, one of state's 10 best jobs, to coach at New Hampstead, a Savannah-area school with little football tradition. The motive was to be closer to his Tybee Island retirement home. Grayson parted ways with Christian Hunnicutt despite his 20-5 record over two seasons and a 2018 coach-of-the-year award. But nothing can top the news of the firing of Rush Propst, the state's (if not the nation's) most famous high school football coach. A school board investigation concluded that Propst lost control of the team, gave pills to student-athletes, interfered with the hiring of a principal and owed more than $400,000 in back taxes. Propst denied the charges, calling them "misleading half-truths meant to damage my reputation."

Region 1 

*Colquitt County hired Jones County head coach Justin Rogers to replace Rush Propst, who was fired in March. Rogers' five-year record at Jones County was 45-15. Jones County had not won a playoff game since 2001 until Rogers' first season in 2014, when the Greyhounds went 10-3 and advanced to the Class AAAAA quarterfinals while scoring a school-record 481 points, twice the output of the previous season. Propst's record at Colquitt County was 119-35 in 11 seasons. His teams won state titles in 2014 and 2015, each with a 15-0 record, and had Class AAAAAAA runner-up finishes the past two seasons.

Region 2 

*Campbell hired Etowah defensive coordinator Howie DeCristofaro to replace Kyle Adkins, who took the head coaching job at Bradwell Institute. As a head coach, DeCristofaro led Milton to its first region title in history in 2014 with future NFL players Peyton Barber and Carl Lawson. He was let go after a 5-5 finish in 2016. DeCristofaro was a head coach in Florida for 12 years before coming to Georgia. Campbell was 6-15 under Adkins, including 1-9 last season, but the 5-6 finish in 2017 marked the first playoff appearance since 2006.

*Pebblebrook hired Turner County head coach Leroy Hood to replace Kevin Saunders, who took the head coaching job at Gilmer. Hood's Turner County teams were 6-5 in each of his two seasons. Hood previously had been on Tift County's staff. Pebblebrook was 20-23 in four seasons under Saunders, who led the Falcons to three consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2001-03.

*Westlake promoted Bobby May to replace Kareem Reid, who took the head coaching job at Griffin. May was Westlake's offensive coordinator for one season. May was head coach at Suncoast in south Florida and led the school to its best season in 13 years (6-3 record) before coming to Georgia. May also has coached at Palm Beach Lakes and Palm Beach Gardens. Under Reid, Westlake was 10-4, 8-3 and 9-3 with three region championships.

*Wheeler hired Woodland (Stockbridge) head coach Bryan Love to replace Mike Collins, who took the head coaching job at River Ridge. Love's Woodland teams were 3-7 the past two seasons. He was Westlake's head coach during the region-championship seasons of 2014 and 2015. Love was Camden County's defensive coordinator before to coming to Westlake. Wheeler was 37-56 in 10 seasons under Collins and 6-4 in 2018.

Region 3 

*McEachern hired Ware County head coach Franklin Stephens to replace Kyle Hockman, who took the head coaching job at New Hampstead. Stephens was at Ware County the past five seasons and Lamar County the previous two. He has won seven region titles at three schools, at least two at each of them. His record is 133-26-1 over 13 seasons. Stephens was the fastest head coach in Georgia to 100 wins in 2014 when he reached the century mark in 109 games, one quicker than Hall of Fame coach Robert Davis of Warner Robins. Hockman's record at McEachern was 103-32 with five region titles in 11 seasons.

Region 4 

*Lassiter hired Mayville State (N.D.) head coach Sean Thom to replace Jep Irwin, who took the head coaching job at Whitley County in Kentucky. Thom was head coach for two seasons at Mayville, a long-suffering NAIA program that managed just two wins during his tenure. A native of Florida, Thom was defensive coordinator at Kennesaw Mountain and North Forsyth before becoming a head coach for one season at McCormick, which he led to South Carolina's Class A quarterfinals. Thom worked at college alma mater Faulkner University for a season before taking the Mayville job. Irwin was 51-47 in nine seasons at Lassiter. That included 10-win seasons in 2011 and 2012 but a 1-9 finish last year.

Region 5 

None

Region 6 

*Duluth hired Grayson assistant Cam Jones to replace Bob Swank, who is now defensive coordinator at Chamblee. Jones was head coach at Lakeside of Atlanta in 2016 and 2017, and his teams were 7-13. Jones also has assisted at Norcross and aschools in Florida and his native North Carolina. He most recently was Grayson's receivers coach and passing game coordinator. Duluth was 10-30 overall and 4-6 in 2018 under Swank, who now works under his former Duluth offensive coordinator, Scott Schwarzer, Chamblee's head coach.

*Mill Creek promoted top assistant and offensive line coach Josh Lovelady to replace Shannon Jarvis, who remained as athletics director. Jarvis and Lovelady go back to their days at South Gwinnett, where they were assistants under T. McFerrin. Lovelady also played at South Gwinnett. Jarvis started the Mill Creek program in 2004 and led it to a 102-68 record and semifinal appearances in 2015 and 2016.

Region 7 

*Lakeside of Atlanta hired Henry County head coach Morris Starr to replace Zack Edwards, who is now defensive line coach at North Cobb Christian. Starr has been head coach at Henry County (2013-18) and Tri-Cities (2006-07) and has a 23-59 record. He was the Henry Herald county coach of the year in 2018, when he got Henry County (now called McDonough High) into the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Lakeside was 1-9 in Edwards' only season.

Region 8 

*Grayson hired Creekview head coach Adam Carter to replace Christian Hunnicutt, who took the head coaching job at Villa Rica. In Carter's only season at Creekview, the Grizzlies finished 12-1 and reached the Class AAAAAA quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Lee County. Creekview finished No. 4 in the final rankings, the highest ever for a Cherokee County school. Carter had come to Creekview from Valdosta, where he was the defensive coordinator for the 2016 Class AAAAAA championship team. Carter has been an assistant at Marietta, Camden County and alma mater Paulding County as well as Reinhardt College as defensive coordinator for one season, 2014. He was head coach at Bradwell Institute in 2013 and led the Tigers to a 4-6 finish, twice the number of victories as the prior season.

*Newton promoted Camiel Grant to replace Terrence Banks, who took the head coaching job at Tri-Cities. Grant was Newton's interim head coach for the first round of the playoffs last season after Banks stepped down following the regular season. Grant primarily had coached the offense and quarterbacks the past five seasons at Newton. He also has been an offensive coordinator at M.L. King and Mundy's Mill. Banks' teams were 38-27 in six seasons, all ending in playoff appearances.

*Shiloh hired Palm Beach Central (Fla.) head coach Tino Ierulli to replace Ryan Andrews, who is now defensive coordinator at Griffin. Ierulli's Palm Beach teams were 33-24 over five years and 11-2 in 2018. The program won three district titles in Florida's highest classification. Ierulli has been a football coach for 16 years, starting with a semipro outfit called the Orlando Guardians. Shiloh was 8-32 in four seasons under Andrews and hasn't had a winning season since a 6-5 mark in 2003.

Coming Friday: Class AAAAAA

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