Camden’s Roland, Harrison’s Salam among 9 new head coaches at Class 6A schools

Best job: Camden County

Toughest job: Heritage (Conyers)

Most interesting: Fresh off a Florida state championship at alma mater Mainland, Travis Roland won the Camden County job in February, beating out more than 30 applicants to replace the retiring Jeff Herron. When hired in 2000, Herron had just won a state title himself at Oconee County. Herron would win three more at Camden, making the program a state power. His famed Wing-T offense might not survive the transition, as Roland has hired an offensive coordinator, Grant Alford, whose Lake Minneola team passed for more than 3,500 yards in Florida last season. But Roland is wise enough to know what’s not broken. Seventeen of Herron’s assistants remain from a team that reached the Class 7A semifinals last season.

Region 1

*Camden County hired Mainland (Fla.) coach Travis Roland to replace Jeff Herron, who retired. Roland led Mainland to a Class 3S championship last year and had a 30-10 record in three seasons at his alma mater in Daytona Beach. MaxPreps ranked Mainland as Florida’s No. 6 team in all classifications last season. Roland’s career record is 58-22. He was head coach for four seasons at Flagler Palm Coast. Camden County was 10-4 last season and reached the Class 7A semifinals. Herron stepped away after 32 seasons as a head coach, 16 at Camden. He won 334 games and is the only coach in GHSA history to win state titles at three schools (Camden County, Oconee County, Grayson).

*Tift County hired Bainbridge coach Jeff Littleton to replace Noel Dean, who became head coach at Chelsea (Mich.). Littleton led Bainbridge to a 2018 Class 5A championship and won region titles the past four seasons. His record is 91-46 over 11 seasons, all at Bainbridge. Littleton had been on Tift County’s staff early in his career and served on staffs at Cairo, Dooly County and Worth County. He played on Worth County’s 1987 state championship team. Tift County has not won a playoff game since its 2018 Class 7A quarterfinal run and was 2-8 last season.

Region 2

*Westlake promoted defensive coordinator Morris Mitchell to replace Rico Zackery, who joined East Carolina’s staff as defensive ends/outside linebackers coach. Morris played at Shorter University, then in the CFL and the National Arena League for a short time, before starting his coaching career at Union Grove in Henry County in 2017. He also assisted at alma mater Villa Rica and Alexander before joining Westlake’s staff in 2022.

Region 3

*Harrison hired Osborne coach Luqman Salam to replace Josh Cassidy, who is not coaching this season. Salam’s Osborne teams were 13-17 in three seasons at a program that was 2-47 over the previous five years. Osborne’s 7-4 record in 2023 was its first winning season since 1994. Osborne also ended a 46-game losing streak in region play. When hired in 2021, Salam had been on Hillgrove’s staff since 2008. He coached four prior seasons at Wheeler. Salam is from Detroit and came to Georgia after playing at Suwanee.

*Osborne hired former Kell coach Derek Cook to replace Luqman Salaam, who became head coach at Harrison. Cook led Kell to four region titles from 2008 to 2016. He left on top, with his team going 11-3 and reaching the Class 5A semifinals, choosing to take a break from head coaching. He has since been on staffs at McEachern, Lassiter and Campbell. Osborne was 7-4 last season, the Cardinals’ first winning season since 1994.

*Paulding County hired Carter (Tenn.) coach Justin Pressley to replace Sumo Robinson, who became head coach at Mundy’s Mill. Pressley has been a head coach at Carter (2020-23, with a 23-20 record at a program that was 11-31 the previous four seasons) and Volunteer in Tennessee and Lindblom in Chicago. He assisted at Pearl-Cohn and Siegel in Tennessee. Paulding County was 2-8 in Robinson’s only season.

*South Cobb hired Grovetown defensive coordinator and former Georgia linebacker Marcus Washington to replace Thomas Hanson, who became Riverwood’s defensive coordinator. Washington had been at Grovetown, his alma mater, since 2020. He previously was on staffs at Burke County and Clarke Central. He played at Georgia in 2006-09. Washington inherits a team on a 21-game losing streak and moving into the highest classification.

Region 4

*Heritage of Conyers hired McDonough coach Rodney Cofield to replace Ryan Andrews, who is now Greene County’s defensive coordinator. Cofield’s career record is 158-108-1 in 25 seasons at McDonough, Douglass and Washington, programs that had a combined 4-26 record in the seasons immediately before they hired him. Heritage has gone 6-24 since the COVID-19 2020 season limited the program to five games. The Patriots are in the highest classification for the first time since 1995.

Region 5

*Cherokee hired Calhoun offensive coordinator Adam Holley to replace Josh Shaw, who joined North Cobb’s staff working with special teams and recruiting. Holley spent two seasons at Calhoun and previously worked at Cartersville, Whitewater and Lee County. Holley is a former player at Starr’s Mill and West Georgia. He began coaching in 2015. Cherokee was 55-74 in Shaw’s 12 seasons and 2-8 in 2023.

Region 6

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Region 7

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Region 8

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Coming Friday: Class 5A

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