Tri-Cities’ Banks among 11 new head coaches in Class AAAAAA

Best job: Hughes

Toughest job: Forest Park

Most interesting: It was an eventful offseason for New Manchester's former head brass. The head coach, Myron Terry, resigned. His co-offensive coordinator, Steve Robinson, got the head-coaching job at Drew in Clayton County and hired Terry on his staff. The defensive coordinator, Cedric Jackson, stayed put at New Manchester to work under newly hired head coach Kevin Whitley, who was lured from state-power Stockbridge in one of the best hires of the offseason. But Whitley was persuaded last month to join alma mater Georgia Southern's staff. So now Jackson, in his fourth season at the Douglas County school, is a head coach for the first time.

Region 1 

None

Region 2 

*Bradwell Institute hired Campbell head coach Kyle Adkins to replace Ross Couch, who is now defensive coordinator at Rutland. Bradwell was 6-4 and 4-6 in Couch's two seasons after going 3-26-1 over the previous three seasons. Adkins has coached at Shaw (2012-14), Pope (2015-16) and Campbell (2017-18) with a 23-49 overall record at those rebuilding projects.

Region 3 

*Alcovy hired Catholic (La.) defensive line coach Jason Dukes to replace Chris Edgar. Catholic, in Baton Rouge, won a 2017 state title with Dukes on staff and was a state runner-up in 2018. A Georgia native and former Georgia Tech player, Dukes led Alpharetta to region titles in 2011 and 2013. Edgar's teams were 9-21 in three seasons after going 1-19 the previous two. Edgar is now on county rival Eastside's staff.

Region 4 

*Drew hired New Manchester co-offensive coordinator Steve Robinson to replace Dorwyn Lyles, who remained as athletics director. This will be Robinson's sixth season at New Manchester. He was on Temple's staff the previous 13 seasons. Drew was 26-29 in five seasons under Lyles, who led the team to the AAAAA quarterfinals in 2015.

*Forest Park promoted offensive coordinator Gerren Griffin to replace Martez Edwards. Griffin, a former Sandy Creek player in his third season at Forest Park, has been on staffs at Marietta, Mundy's Mill and his college alma mater, James Madison. Forest Park in 2018 was 3-7 - its best finish since 2002 - while playing a region schedule for the first time since 2015. Former coach Edwards took the head coaching job at Meridian in Mississippi in February, though he was fired in June after an inappropriate photo of himself surfaced on social media.

Region 5 

*Hughes promoted associate head coach and defensive backs coach Daniel Williams to replace Willie Cannon, who remained as athletics director. This will be Williams' seventh season at Hughes. He coached at his alma mater, Creekside, the previous eight. Hughes was 60-49 in 10 seasons under Cannon, who started the program and won region titles in 2012 and 2013. The Panthers were 4-6 last season.

*New Manchester promoted defensive coordinator Cedric Jackson after its original choice, former Stockbridge head coach Kevin Whitley, accepted a job on Georgia Southern's staff. This will be Jackson's fourth season at New Manchester. He has assisted at Banneker and Villa Rica. He's a Central of Carrollton graduate. New Manchester was 6-24 in three seasons under Myron Terry, who is now on staff at Drew.

*Tri-Cities hired former Newton head coach Terrance Banks to replace Innis Claud, who remained as a teacher at the school. Banks' teams at Newton were 38-27 in six seasons, all ending in playoff appearances. Tri-Cities was 1-9 in Claud's only season.

Region 6 

*Chattahoochee promoted Mike Malone to replace Vince Strine, who is now athletics director at North Springs. Strine's teams were 16-34 over five seasons. Malone was on the staff at Gainesville, his alma mater, for eight years, including the 2012 state championship season, and worked four years prior at the middle school, helping build the feeder program. Malone was co-offensive coordinator in 2016 at Central Gwinnett before coming to Chattahoochee. Malone is a former star running back at Gainesville and Southern Conference 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles champion at Western Carolina. He had NFL tryouts and played in the Germany Football League.

*Creekview hired South Forsyth defensive coordinator Trevor Williams to replace Adam Carter, who took the head coaching job at Grayson. In Carter's only season, Creekview finished 12-1 and won the first region title in the program's 13-year history. Williams is a Cherokee County native and Sequoyah graduate who was on South Forsyth's staff the past six years. He was Forsyth Central's offensive coordinator the previous four seasons.

*River Ridge hired Wheeler head coach Mike Collins to replace Tyler Wynn, who took the head coaching job at Greenville. Collins has a career record of 69-79 at Wheeler, Chamblee and Pebblebrook while taking each to the playoffs at least twice. A Cherokee High graduate and former assistant, Collins is returning to his home county. River Ridge was 9-31 in four seasons under Wynn. The school has made the playoffs just once, with a 5-6 finish in 2012, in its 10 seasons.

Region 7 

*Centennial hired Warner Robins offensive coordinator Shane Sams to replace Michael Perry, who took the head coaching job at East Hall. Sams directed Warner Robins' offenses that averaged 35.7 points and 271.4 passing yards over the past two seasons, each ending in state runner-up finishes. Before coaching at Warner Robins, his alma mater, Sams was the offensive coordinator at Chapel Hill and New Manchester. Centennial was 7-4 last season.

Region 8 

None

Coming Monday: Class AAAAA

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