Coaching turnover is one of the biggest stories of the offseason heading into the 2021 Georgia high school football season. GHSF Daily will chronicle each of 97 coaching changes, with the landing spots of former coaches, starting today with Class 7A.
Class 7A
Number of hires: 8
Best hire: Jeff Herron, Camden County
Hardest to replace: Matt Dickmann, Harrison
Best job: Camden County
Toughest job: South Gwinnett
Most interesting: Two formerly retired high school coaches with multiple state titles are back, both in Region 1. The better known in Georgia is Jeff Herron, who returned to Camden County, where he won state titles in 2003, 2008 and 2009. Herron left Kingsland in 2013, won a state title at Grayson, led T.L. Hanna to a South Carolina state final, then retired, partly over health concerns. He came back last season as an assistant at Tennessee Tech. Tift County also snagged a former retiree, Noel Dean, a 2016 inductee in the Michigan High School Football Association Coaches Hall of Fame. Dean won three state titles and reached six championship games in the Wolverine State. He retired after the 2017 season, saying he’d never be a head coach again. The intrigue of South Georgia football changed his mind.
Region 1
*Camden County hired Tennessee Tech assistant Jeff Herron, the coach who led Camden to three state titles in the 2000-09 decade, to replace Bob Sphire, who became head coach at Highlands High in Kentucky. Herron’s record in 29 seasons as a head coach is 312-54. That includes a 154-18 run at Camden from 2000 to 2012. Camden was 23-20 in four seasons under Sphire and 5-6 last year.
*Tift County hired former Lowell (Mich.) coach Noel Dean to replace Ashley Anders. Dean won Michigan state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2009 and was runner-up three times before stepping down after the 2017 season. His Michigan record was 241-68. Tift County was 2-7 in 2020 and 35-31 in six seasons under Anders, who is now special teams and co-defensive coordinator at Colquitt County.
Region 2
None
Region 3
*Harrison promoted defensive backs coach Josh Cassidy to replace Matt Dickmann, who stepped away from coaching after an eight-year run highlighted by the 2019 Class 6A championship. Cassidy joined Harrison’s staff in 2013, when Dickmann was hired. Cassidy previously assisted at Kell, Naples and Olympic Heights in Florida and his alma mater E.C. Glass of Lynchburg, Va. Harrison was 4-6 in 2020, the Hoyas’ first season in 7A. Dickmann remains at Harrison as strength and conditioning coordinator.
*Hillgrove hired Chapel Hill coach Justin DeShon to replace Byron Slack. DeShon’s Chapel Hill teams were 28-24 over his last five seasons after a 2-18 start to the rebuild. He previously had been New Manchester’s defensive coordinator. Hillgrove was 4-5 in 2020, the only season under Slack, who joined Colquitt County’s staff as assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
Region 4
*South Gwinnett hired Tucker coach Bryan Lamar to replace Steve Davenport, who retired. Lamar’s record at Tucker, his alma mater, was 83-29 with four region titles and two state finals appearances in nine seasons. South Gwinnett was 16-26 overall in four seasons under Davenport, including 5-5 in 2020.
Region 5
*Woodstock hired Eastside coach Troy Hoff to replace Brent Budde, who stepped down after 11 seasons as head coach at his alma mater. Hoff’s Eastside teams were 51-17 with one region title in six seasons and reached the 2020 Class 5A quarterfinals. Hoff is a South Dakota native. Woodstock was 3-7 last season and 51-64 overall under Budde, who is now Sequoyah’s defensive coordinator.
Region 6
*Forsyth Central promoted defensive coordinator David Rooney to replace Frank Hepler, who resigned as the all-time winningest coach in Forsyth County. Rooney joined Central’s staff in 2018 and coached the previous 11 years at West Forsyth. Rooney was a head coach at Taravella High in his native Florida before coming to Georgia. He’s a former Boston College punter. Hepler was 18-29 in five seasons at Central and 69-47 overall in the county. He’s now a defensive line coach at South Fort Myers in Florida.
*South Forsyth promoted assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Troy Morris to replace Jeff Arnette, who retired. Morris has been on South’s staff since 2010. He was Social Circle’s head coach from 2007 to 2009, reaching the playoffs each season. South Forsyth was 5-4 in 2020 and 68-50 in 11 seasons with region titles in 2015 and 2017 under Arnette.
Region 7
None
Region 8
None
Coming Tuesday: Class 6A
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